WTI holds gains near $61.00 as Iraq reports record Oil exports

• WTI prices have retreated below $61.00 after hitting three-week highs right above $62.00.
• News that Iraq's crude supply hit record levels has added pressure on Oul prices on Monday.
• Hopes of a Trump-Xi trade deal this week are keeping Crude prices from retreating further.

Oil prices are trimming some gains on Monday, as Iraq's oil minister reported a record Crude exports, beyond 102 million barrels in September, and announced negotiations about the size of its quota with OPEC. The US benchmark West Texas Intermediate has hit session lows just below $61.00, but is holding most of the gains taken last week, amid hopes that the Trump-Xi meeting will extend the trade truce between the world's two major economies, helping avoid a further decline in demand for crude.

The US President endorsed these views earlier on Monday, reiterating before press reporters that he is optimistic about the chances of coming away with a deal after he meets with Chinese President Xi during his tour in Asia.

On Sunday, US Secretary Scott Bessent affirmed that the talks with Chinese negotiators during the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit in Malaysia have been fruitful and suggested that Trump's threat of a 100% tariff on Chinese imports is off the table right now.

Bessent also assured that Beijng is open to delaying the implementation of further restrictions on rare earth imports, which has boosted investor hopes that the trade truce might extend beyond the November 1 deadline, calming fears of a trade war, which would reduce global demand for crude.

Furthermore, the US administration implemented new sanctions against Russia's leading Oil producers, Lukoil and Rosneft, which are likely to withdraw a significant chunk of global Oil supply from the market, easing concerns of an Oil glut, triggered by continuous supply hikes by producer countries.