Crude oil futures gain on hopes of US-China trade talks 

Oil pumps and rig at sunset istock photo for BL

Crude oil futures traded higher on Friday morning after China indicated its willingness to hold talks with the US on trade tariffs.

At 9.56 am on Friday, July Brent oil futures were at $62.53, up by 0.64 per cent, and June crude oil futures on WTI (West Texas Intermediate) were at $59.66, up by 0.71 per cent.

May crude oil futures were trading at ₹5017 on Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) during the initial hour of trading on Friday against the previous close of ₹4972, up by 0.91 per cent, and June futures were trading at ₹4997 against the previous close of ₹4952, up by 0.91 per cent.

On Friday, China’s commerce ministry said that the US has recently reached out to convey messages to China through relevant parties many times, expressing hope to engage in talks with China over tariff issues.

China’s Xinhua news agency said that the tariff and trade wars were unilaterally initiated by the US. Quoting a statement from the Chinese commerce ministry, it said: “If the US wants to negotiate, it must demonstrate sincerity, and make preparations and take concrete actions on issues such as correcting its erroneous practices and lifting the unilateral tariffs.”

China and the US are the two major consumers of crude oil in the global market. Tensions over the tariffs between these two economies were impacting the demand for commodities such as crude oil. Market players feel that de-escalation of tensions will help improve the demand for crude oil.

Crude oil prices got a boost from the US President Donald Trump’s statement on Iran. On Thursday, Trump threatened to impose secondary sanctions on buyers of Iranian oil. His statements followed a postponement of talks with Iran over its nuclear programme. Iran is one of the major producers of crude oil in the global market.

May copper futures were trading at ₹836.90 on MCX during the initial hour of trading on Friday against the previous close of ₹830.70, up by 0.75 per cent.

On the National Commodities and Derivatives Exchange (NCDEX), June dhaniya contracts were trading at ₹7570 in the initial hour of trading on Friday against the previous close of ₹7516, up by 0.72 per cent.

May turmeric (farmer polished) futures were trading at ₹14142 on NCDEX in the initial hour of trading on Friday against the previous close of ₹14072, up by 0.50 per cent.

Published on May 2, 2025