Crude Oil Pulls Back Sharply Amid Lingering Demand Concerns

(RTTNews) - After rebounding from last Wednesday's slump over the two previous sessions, the price of crude oil showed a significant move back to the downside during trading on Monday.

Crude for June delivery tumbled $0.97 or 1.5 percent to $62.05 a barrel after rising $0.23 or 0.4 percent to $63.02 a barrel last Friday.

The sharp pullback by the price of crude oil came amid ongoing concerns about demand due to lingering uncertainty about potential trade deals.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told ABC News' "This Week" on Sunday he believes an agreement in principle can reached on "17 or 18 important trade deals" the administration is currently negotiating.

"A trade deal can take months, but an agreement in principle and the good behavior and staying within the parameter of the deal by our trading partners can keep the tariffs there from ratcheting back to the maximum level," Bessent said.

Meanwhile, in a separate interview with CNBC's "Squawk Box" this morning, Bessent said he believes it's up to China to de-escalate, "because they sell five times more to us than we sell to them."

The steep drop by crude oil futures also came as Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said he remains "extremely cautious" about the success of nuclear talks between Iran and the U.S.