Oil prices fall as investors seek clarity on US-China trade deal

Oil prices on Monday slid off near three-month highs hit last week as investors searched for clarity beyond the initial impact of a trade deal between the United States and China that's expected to boost flows between the top two global economies.

Brent crude oil futures fell 22 cents, or 0.3% to $65.00 a barrel by 0400 GMT, while West Texas Intermediate crude was down 23 cents or 0.4% to $59.84 a barrel.

The United States and China cooled long-simmering trade tensions on Friday, announcing a "phase one" agreement that reduces some US tariffs in exchange for what US officials said would be a big jump in Chinese purchases of American farm products and other goods.

The Friday agreement averted additional tariffs on Chinese goods totalling $160 billion that the United States was set to impose over the weekend, but investors remained cautious as they awaited precise details of how the trade deal would work.

Data from China on Monday that showed industrial output and retail sales growth accelerating more than expected in November did offer some support for oil prices.

Still, investors remained cautious as growth in China is expected to slow further next year, with the government likely to set its economic growth target at around 6% in 2020 compared with this year's 6-6.5%.