Saturday 28 September 2019 10:45 am

Oil prices fall on possible limit to China investments

AT SEA - FEBRUARY 24: A general view of the BP ETAP (Eastern Trough Area Project) oil platform in the North Sea on February 24, 2014, around 100 miles east of Aberdeen, Scotland. The British cabinet will meet in Scotland for only the third time in history to announce plans for the country's oil industry, which it warns will decline if Scots vote for independence. The fate of North Sea oil revenues will be a key issue ahead of the September 18 referendum to decide whether Scotland will end its 300-year-old union with England, and is expected to be the focus of Prime Minister David Cameron's cabinet meeting. (Photo by Andy Buchanan - WPA Pool/Getty Images)

The price of oil fell on Friday and was down for the week after an escalation in trade tensions between the US and China as well as a faster-than-expected recovery from Saudi Arabia’s oil production.

During a volatile session, Brent fell 83 cents to end the day at $61.91 per barrel.

It came following reports on Friday that Donald Trump may limit US portfolio investments into China and as investors fear a decrease in demand amid an economic slowdown in China.

The delisting of Chinese companies from US stock exchanges was part of a broad effort to limit US investment in Chinese companies.

Wall Street pared gains to end the session down, with the S&P 500 posting its biggest weekly loss in a month.

The S&P 500 lost 17.2 points on Friday, ending the day 0.58 per cent down at 2,960.42.

Dow Jones fell 73.28 points to 26,817.84 or 0.27 per cent and the Nasdaq dropped 1.12 per cent to 7,940.60.

Across Europe major indexes closed higher despite data suggesting slowing global growth.

Further talks between the US and China are set to resume in October as they seek a resolution to the trade war.