By Dan Molinski and Christopher Alessi 

-- U.S. oil prices pulled back from a four-month high Tuesday over concerns about the progress of U.S.-China trade negotiations and as shale producers began hedging their output to lock in relatively high prices.

-- West Texas Intermediate futures, the U.S. oil standard, ended 0.1% lower at $59.03 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The decline came after prices ended Monday at $59.09, the highest closing price since Nov. 12.

-- Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, closed 0.1% higher at $67.61 a barrel on London's Intercontinental Exchange.

HIGHLIGHTS

U.S.-China Trade: Oil prices had their sights set on a $60-a-barrel level early in the session, rising to a fresh four-month intraday high of $59.57 a barrel. But then a report from Bloomberg indicated some U.S. officials are concerned that China plans to roll back supposed earlier concessions as the two economic giants try to iron out a yearlong trade dispute.

"That China trade headline came out and caused some profit-taking on renewed worries of trade war that could lead to reduced oil demand," said Phil Flynn, senior market analyst at Price Futures in Chicago. Mr. Flynn added that with prices so close to $60 a barrel, oil producers may have started hedging their production to protect against any future price drops.

"We know that shale guys are desperate to lock in prices when they get near these levels, and the $60 level is a big psychological number, so that may be why we're stalling also," he said.

OPEC+: Helping to fuel oil's earlier gains Tuesday was an agreement Sunday by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies outside the cartel to deepen their crude-production cuts beyond the quota agreed on in December.

At a ministerial meeting in Baku, Azerbaijan, Saudi Arabia, the de facto head of OPEC and the world's largest exporter of crude, also indicated a willingness to maintain production curbs through the end of the year to keep the oil market in balance.

Bjarne Schieldrop, chief commodities analyst at SEB Markets, said the group of producers are highly likely to cut production in the second half of this year if needed. "It clearly looks like OPEC+ is successful in tightening up the crude oil market," he said.

Russia Refusal: Despite the generally bullish tone, signs of divisions in the OPEC+ group emerged this week, as Russia refused to commit to production curbs beyond the first half of the year. Russia's compliance with the cuts has lagged behind Saudi Arabia, which has shouldered the bulk of the effort.

"It thus appears questionable whether Russia will achieve full compliance by the end of March, as it has promised to do," analysts at Commerzbank said.

INSIGHT

Bearish Pressures: Price Futures' Mr. Flynn said investors also were reluctant to advance oil's recent rally until after Wednesday's weekly oil report from the Energy Information Administration is released. Analysts surveyed by The Wall Street Journal on Tuesday pointed to a split in opinions over whether the data will show a bullish drawdown in U.S. oil inventories, or a bearish buildup.

Estimates from 11 analysts and traders surveyed showed U.S. oil inventories are projected to have risen by 800,000 barrels, on average, in the week ended March 15. Six of the 11 analysts expect oil stockpiles to rise, while five expect a decline from the previous week.

AHEAD

-- The American Petroleum Institute, an industry group, releases weekly data on U.S. oil inventories at 4:30 p.m. EDT, followed by official data from the EIA on Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. EDT.

Write to Dan Molinski at Dan.Molinski@wsj.com and Christopher Alessi at christopher.alessi@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 19, 2019 16:12 ET (20:12 GMT)