Oil was steady near a two-month high as optimism over progress toward a limited U.S.-China trade deal was balanced with investor fatigue due to the long-running negotiations.

Futures were little changed in New York after dropping 1.4% on Friday. China said over the weekend it will raise penalties on violations of intellectual property rights in an attempt to address one of the sticking points with the U.S. That came after President Donald Trump told Fox News on Friday that he was “very close” to a trade pact, but warned that Beijing wanted a deal more and that Hong Kong is a complicating factor.

WTI for January delivery rose 9 cents, or 0.2% to $57.86 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange as of 10:24 a.m. in Singapore. It closed at $58.58 on Thursday, the highest since Sept. 17. The contract is near its upper Bollinger band, a technical signal that it may be overbought.

Brent for January settlement added 7 cents to $63.46 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe Exchange. The contract dropped 0.9% Friday. The global benchmark traded at a $5.60 premium to WTI.

Source : Bloomberg