By Callum Keown
Oil prices slipped early Wednesday but remained above $100 a barrel as President Donald Trump headed to Beijing for a high-stakes summit with China's Xi Jinping.
The Iran war, and the Strait of Hormuz in particular, may complicate the meeting -- China is Iran's biggest oil buyer.
Brent crude futures, the international benchmark, fell 1% to $106.67, while West Texas Intermediate futures were down 1.1% at $101.06. Both benchmarks have climbed more than 75% so far this year.
The U.S. stock market has shrugged off higher oil prices recently, with the S&P 500 jumping 13% since the beginning of April. But for European equities it's been tougher going -- the Stoxx 600 index is up 5% since the start of April and flat so far in May.
"For now, EU equities are stuck in the swinging pendulum of SoH [Strait of Hormuz] disruption uncertainty," Morgan Stanley analysts wrote in a note early Wednesday. They see an 11% upside to their June target for the MSCI Europe if the strait begins to reopen in the coming months.
But they stuck to their call for "choppy, sideways" trading, driven by headlines, as the strait stays closed near term.
Separately, oil giant BP is looking to boost production. The company said it has acquired a 40% stake in a production-sharing agreement in six oil and gas blocks in Uzbekistan.
"We believe Uzbekistan has significant resource potential and see this as an opportunity to support the exploration and development of the country's oil and gas resources, delivering long-term benefits of the region," said Gio Cristofoli, the company's regional president for Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkiye said.
Write to Callum Keown at callum.keown@dowjones.com
This content was created by Barron's, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. Barron's is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 13, 2026 04:34 ET (08:34 GMT)
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