Oil Prices Rise on Support from US-China Trade Hopes

Summary

• Crude prices supported by impending US-China talks • Brent prices could drop to $50 if US-Iran deal occurs – Citi

LONDON, May 8 (Reuters) – Oil prices rose over 1% on Thursday, buoyed by hopes of a breakthrough in looming trade talks between the United States and China, the world’s two largest oil consumers.

Brent crude futures were up 86 cents, or 1.4%, at $61.98 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude rose 97 cents, or around 1.7% to $59.03 a barrel at 1120 GMT.

The market has almost stabilised at slightly above $61 a barrel, said SEB analyst Ole Hvalbye, which along with some optimism around the tariff situation with ice-breaker talks due between the U.S. and China, was providing support.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will meet with China’s top economic official on May 10 in Switzerland for negotiations over a trade war that is disrupting the global economy.

The countries are the world’s two largest economies and the fallout from their trade dispute is likely to lower crude consumption growth.

Other trade deals being announced by Trump, such as the one with the UK, could also be a bit positive on the market, according to Fawad Razaqzada, an analyst at City Index and Forex.com.

At the same time, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, known as OPEC+, will increase its oil output, pressuring prices.

Analysts at Citi Research lowered their three-month price forecast for Brent to $55 per barrel from $60 earlier, but maintained their long-term forecast of $60 a barrel this year.

A U.S.-Iran nuclear deal could drive Brent prices down towards $50 per barrel on increased supply in the market, but if no deal were to happen, prices could go up to over $70, they added.

Reporting by Seher Dareen in London, Katya Golubkova in Tokyo and Emily Chow in Singapore; Editing by Sharon Singleton, Emelia Sithole-Matarise and David Evans

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