By Bloomberg News

(Bloomberg) -- Oil fell for a third session as talks between the US and its trading partners gain urgency ahead of next week’s deadline.

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International benchmark Brent traded below $69 a barrel. European Union and US negotiators are heading into another week of intensive discussions as they seek to clinch a trade deal by Aug. 1, when President Donald Trump has threatened to hit most of the bloc’s exports with 30% tariffs.

“With the tariff deadline looming, risks are skewed to the downside,” said Warren Patterson, head of commodities strategy at ING Groep NV, “Expectations for a better supplied oil market later in the year only add to the view that there is further downside.”

Crude has been drifting sideways since the end of the conflict between Iran and Israel towards the end of the last month, dragging gauges of market volatility to the lowest level since early April.

While Brent and West Texas Intermediate crude prices have flatlined, many of the largest moves in the oil market have been in diesel prices, where values are soaring thanks to tight supplies and refinery closures.

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