HOUSTON: Oil prices edged lower on Wednesday on worries about possible US interest rate hikes while investors focused on a high-stakes summit in Beijing between US President Donald Trump and China’s Xi Jinping.

Brent crude futures were down $1.83, or 1.7pc, to $105.94 a barrel at 1753 GMT. Meanwhile, the US West Texas Intermediate futures fell 75 cents, or 0.7pc, to $101.44.

Boston Federal Reser­­ve President Susan Col­lins said on Wednesday the US central bank may need to raise interest rates if inflation pressures do not abate, in a sign that the war has begun to weigh on the US economy.

Higher oil prices have pushed up fuel costs and economists expect to see second-round effects in the months ahead.

Published in Dawn, May 14th, 2026