President Donald Trump’s campaign promise of U.S. “energy dominance” is running into a flood of OPEC crude oil — a surge of fuel production pushed by the Saudi leaders greeting him during his Mideast trip this week.

Since he returned to the Oval Office, the benchmark West Texas Intermediate oil price has fallen from $80 a barrel to $60 (see chart 1). That is a problem for the country’s shale patch, which accounts for around two-thirds of domestic output—and for smaller producers in particular,

Terrel Hardin was at a diner along Route 66 in western Oklahoma when his phone rang with bad news: The engine on one of his oil rigs had broken. In times past it would be a straightforward $6,000 fix,

The latest boost came as high-level trade talks between the US and China concluded on a positive note Sunday. US officials highlighted a “deal” aimed at reducing the US trade deficit, while their Chinese counterparts stated that an “important consensus” had been reached.

Oil prices rose on Tuesday but gains were capped by rising supplies and caution over whether the pause in the U.S.-China trade war will lead to a longer-term deal. Brent crude futures rose 65 cents, or about 1%,