diff --git a/wp-includes/formatting.php b/wp-includes/formatting.php
index cf43ea0..a4d62aa 100644
--- a/wp-includes/formatting.php
+++ b/wp-includes/formatting.php
@@ -288,9 +288,9 @@ function wptexturize($text, $reset = false) {
 			}
 
 			// 9x9 (times), but never 0x9999
-			if ( 1 === preg_match( '/(?<=\d)x-?\d/', $curl ) ) {
+			if ( 1 === preg_match( '/(?<=\d)x\d/', $curl ) ) {
 				// Searching for a digit is 10 times more expensive than for the x, so we avoid doing this one!
-				$curl = preg_replace( '/\b(\d(?(?<=0)[\d\.,]+|[\d\.,]*))x(-?\d[\d\.,]*)\b/', '$1&#215;$2', $curl );
+				$curl = preg_replace( '/\b(\d(?(?<=0)[\d\.,]+|[\d\.,]*))x(\d[\d\.,]*)\b/', '$1&#215;$2', $curl );
 			}
 		}
 	}