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International Business Times
9 hours ago
- Business
- International Business Times
Oil Prices Firm Ahead of U.S.–China Trade Talks as Market Eyes Supply and Demand Signals
A cautious sense of optimism returned to oil markets on Monday. As talks between the world's two largest economies resumed, traders began to believe that smoother trade relations could finally lift energy demand. Oil prices were little changed on Monday as investors anticipated new trade talks between the United States and China in London. Brent crude was up 39 cents, or 0.59%, at $66.86 a barrel, and U.S. West Texas Intermediate rose 36 cents, or 0.56%, to $64.94. Both benchmarks had shown solid performance in the previous week, as Brent gained about 4% and WTI posted a more than 6% increase, ending two weeks of declines. The shares were boosted by renewed confidence that easing trade tensions could support global economic growth and increase oil demand. The recent trade talks followed an optimistic telephonic conversation between the U.S. and Chinese leaders. There is now a growing expectation that an end to the tensions could help improve the outlook for global trade, which has been affected this year by tariffs and weak export data from China. But traders are still cautious. China's export growth hit a three-month low in May, and factory gate prices fell to a two-year low. In addition, China took in the lowest volume of crude oil in four months as many refiners have started scheduled maintenance work. These developments occurred as fresh worries over short-term demand from one of the world's biggest oil consumers prompted another selloff. Meanwhile, there are supply-side issues also at play. Canadian oil producers are facing wildfires, which are causing temporary cutbacks and putting upward pressure on prices, and risks from Venezuela, Iran, and broader Middle East tensions continue to sway the market. While OPEC+ is set to pump an additional 400,000 barrels a day next month, some of the effect could be offset by seasonal demand gains in the Northern Hemisphere and potential disruptions. Analysts also state that the oil market may remain relatively balanced in the next quarter, with rising sales potentially marking a turning point by year-end.
Time of India
10-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
US-China trade talk optimism drives oil prices to weekly gains
Oil prices settled nearly 2% higher on Friday and notched their first weekly gains since mid-April as a U.S. trade deal with the United Kingdom turned investors optimistic ahead of talks between top officials from Washington and Beijing. Brent crude futures rose $1.07, or 1.7%, to settle at $63.91 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures advanced $1.11, or about 1.9%, to settle at $61.02. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like AI guru Andrew Ng recommends: Read These 5 Books And Turn Your Life Around in 2025 Blinkist: Andrew Ng's Reading List Undo Week-over-week, both benchmarks gained over 4%. Play Video Pause Skip Backward Skip Forward Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration 0:00 Loaded : 0% 0:00 Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 1x Playback Rate Chapters Chapters Descriptions descriptions off , selected Captions captions settings , opens captions settings dialog captions off , selected Audio Track default , selected Picture-in-Picture Fullscreen This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Opacity Opaque Semi-Transparent Text Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Opacity Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Caption Area Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Opacity Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Drop shadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday said China should open its market to the U.S., and that an 80% tariff on Chinese goods "seems right," a day after he announced a deal lowering tariffs on British car and steel exports, among other agreements with the United Kingdom. "Energy markets - as bearish as they've been - are finally shaking off some of the pessimism and catching the broader market optimism that's showing back up as progress on trade relationships has begun," said Alex Hodes, oil analyst at brokerage StoneX. Live Events The UK agreement and Trump's comments on China have raised hopes for similar deals between Washington and Beijing. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent was to meet with China's top economic official Vice Premier He Lifeng in Switzerland on May 10. Current U.S. tariffs on Chinese imports stand at 145%. "While prohibitively high, you can't knock the math ... 80% is substantially less than 145%," Hodes wrote to clients. Chinese exports rose faster than expected in April while imports narrowed their decline, customs data showed on Friday, giving Beijing some relief ahead of the talks. UNCERTAIN OUTLOOK Rising hostilities in the Middle East also boosted oil prices this week, Nikos Tzabouras, senior market analyst at trading platform Tradu, said. Israel's military said it had intercepted a missile launched from Yemen towards its territory, days after Oman mediated a ceasefire between the U.S. and Yemen's Houthis, who claimed responsibility for Friday's attack. Still, the outlook for oil prices remains uncertain and will largely depend on the trajectory of the U.S. economy, its trading policies and the enforcement of sanctions on Iran and Russia, said Marcus McGregor, head of commodities research for asset management firm Conning. On Thursday, the U.S. imposed sanctions on a third Chinese independent oil refinery for purchases of Iranian crude, ahead of a fourth round of nuclear talks in Oman this weekend. Keeping a ceiling to oil price gains this week was the planned increase to oil output by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, known collectively as OPEC+. However, a Reuters survey found that OPEC oil output edged lower in April as production declines in Libya, Venezuela and Iraq outweighed a scheduled increase in output. The survey was just enough to add an extra glimmer to markets already hopeful ahead of the U.S.-China trade talks, PVM analyst John Evans wrote to clients on Friday.
International Business Times
06-05-2025
- Business
- International Business Times
Crude Prices Slide Following Aggressive OPEC+ Output Hike
Global oil markets extended their retreat this week, battered by a potent mix of rising inventories, fragile demand signals, and a fresh OPEC+ decision to open the taps wider than expected. Monday's session underscored how deeply the market remains gripped by bearish sentiment, as both Brent and U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude benchmarks slipped to their lowest levels since early April. Brent settled $1.06 lower at $60.23 a barrel, down 1.7%, while WTI plunged $1.20 or 2.02% to $57.11. The twin losses compound last week's sharp declines, where Brent tumbled 8.3% and WTI shed 7.5%, effectively wiping out the modest price optimism that had stemmed from earlier hopes of a U.S.-China tariff thaw. Instead, attention has pivoted back to the supply side—where fears are growing louder. Over the weekend, the OPEC+ alliance, which includes Russia and other key non-OPEC producers, confirmed plans to hike output by 411,000 barrels per day (bpd) in June. That follows back-to-back monthly increases, bringing the combined three-month addition to 960,000 bpd—nearly half of the 2.2 million bpd cut introduced in 2022 to prop up prices. But the move is not just about balancing supply. Analysts suggest Saudi Arabia, the bloc's de facto leader, is playing a deeper strategic game. "Falling into this factor will be what is likely to be finite time for the initial Trump-era tariffs," said energy consultant Jim Ritterbusch. Data from analytics firm Vortexa reveals a build-up of nearly 150 million barrels in global crude stocks since mid-February. Recession fears and poor refined fuel import activity are compounding the bearish outlook, suggesting a tough road ahead for oil markets.
CNBC
28-04-2025
- Business
- CNBC
Oil prices stable amid economic uncertainty, OPEC+ supply fears
Oil prices were stable on Monday as investors weighed up uncertainty over trade talks between the U.S. and China, clouding the outlook for global growth and fuel demand, as well as the prospect of OPEC+ raising supply. Brent crude futures were up 1 cent at $66.88 a barrel by 9:36 a.m. ET. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude rose 5 cents to $63.07 a barrel. Brent futures rose marginally in the previous two sessions, but nonetheless marked a week-on-week decrease of over 1% on Friday on concerns about the impact of tariffs on the global economy. The U.S.-China trade war is dominating investor sentiment in moving oil prices, said analyst John Evans of brokerage PVM, superseding nuclear talks between the U.S. and Iran and discord within the OPEC+ coalition. Markets have been rocked by conflicting signals from U.S. President Donald Trump and Beijing over what progress was being made to de-escalate a trade war that threatens to sap global growth. In the latest comment from Washington, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Sunday did not back Trump's assertion that negotiations with China were under way. Earlier, Beijing denied any talks were taking place. Some members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and their allies, known as OPEC+, are expected to suggest that the group accelerates oil output hikes for a second consecutive month when they meet on May 5. "Sentiment has turned more bearish since our forecast last month with OPEC+'s more aggressive unwind – and accompanying doubts about unity within the cartel – the key change," said BNP Paribas analyst Aldo Spanjer in a note. BNP Paribas expects Brent in the high $60s per barrel in the second quarter of this year, the note said. Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said he remained "extremely cautious" about the success of the negotiations, as nuclear talks between Iran and the United States in Oman which continue this week. In Iran, a powerful explosion at its biggest port of Bandar Abbas has killed at least 40, with more than 1,200 people injured, state media reported on Sunday.
Yahoo
14-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Oil extends decline as US-China trade war weighs on global growth outlook
By Katya Golubkova and Florence Tan TOKYO/SINGAPORE (Reuters) -Oil prices fell on Monday on concerns the escalating trade war between the United States and China would weaken global economic growth and dent fuel demand. Brent crude futures were down 29 cents, or 0.45%, at $64.47 a barrel at 0126 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures were trading at $61.23 a barrel, down 27 cents, or 0.44%. Both contracts have lost about $10 a barrel since the start of the month as a trade war between the world's two largest economies has intensified. Goldman Sachs expects Brent to average $63 and WTI to average $59 for the remainder of 2025 and sees Brent averaging $58 and WTI $55 in 2026. It sees global oil demand in the fourth quarter of 2025 rising by just 300,000 barrels per day year-on-year, "given the weak growth outlook," analysts led by Daan Struyven said in a note, adding that the demand slowdown is expected to be the sharpest for petrochemical feedstocks. Beijing increased its tariffs on U.S. imports to 125% on Friday, hitting back against President Donald Trump's decision to raise duties on Chinese goods and raising the stakes in a trade war that threatens to upend global supply chains. Trump on Saturday granted exclusions from steep tariffs on smartphones, computers and some other electronics largely imported from China, but U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on Sunday said that critical technology products from China would face separate new duties along with semiconductors within the next two months. The trade war has heightened worries that unsold exports could continue driving domestic Chinese prices down. "Inflation data from China were a window into an economy that is not in shape for a trade fight. Consumer prices fell for a second month in a row in year-on-year terms, while producer prices chalked up their 30% straight fall," Moody's Analytics said in a weekly note, referring to data released on April 10. As companies prepare for a possible decline in demand, U.S. energy firms last week cut oil rigs by the most in a week since June 2023, lowering the total oil and natural gas rig count for a third consecutive week, according to Baker Hughes. Potentially supporting oil prices, U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said on Friday that the United States could stop Iran's oil exports as part of Trump's plan to pressure Tehran over its nuclear programme. Both countries held "positive" and "constructive" talks in Oman on Saturday and agreed to reconvene next week in a dialogue meant to address Tehran's escalating nuclear programme, officials said over the weekend.
