14.01.202021:37:00UTC+00Oil Futures Snap 5-day Losing Streak, End Slightly Higher

Crude oil futures ended higher on Tuesday, snapping a five-day losing streak, despite easing worries about geopolitical tensions.

Optimism about a U.S.-China trade deal and expectations of a drawdown in U.S. crude oil inventories pushed up oil prices early on in the session.

West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for February ended up $0.15, or about 0.1%, at $58.23 a barrel.

On Monday, WTI crude oil futures for February ended down $0.96, or 1.6%, at $58.08 a barrel.

The phase one U.S.-China trade deal is due to be signed at the White House on Wednesday. U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer told Fox Business that the Chinese translation of the deal's text was almost done.

Traders appeared to be playing it safe ahead of release of weekly crude inventory reports from the American Petroleum Institute and the Energy Information Administration.

Saudi Arabia's Energy Minister Abdulaziz bin Salman said in a Bloomberg television interview on Monday that OPEC and its allies remain focused on using production cuts to reduce oil inventories to normal levels, undeterred by the flare up in geopolitical tensions.