Crude oil futures gain on progress in US-China trade talks 

Crude oil futures traded higher on Monday morning, boosted by progress in trade talks between the US and China.

At 9.40 am on Monday, July Brent oil futures were at $64.23, up by 0.50 per cent, and June crude oil futures on WTI (West Texas Intermediate) were at $61.38, up by 0.59 per cent. May crude oil futures were trading at ₹5207 on Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) during the initial hour of trading on Monday against the previous close of ₹5212, down by 0.10 per cent, and June futures were trading at ₹5194 against the previous close of ₹5197, down by 0.06 per cent.

As reported earlier, the US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and the economic official Vice Premier of China He Lifeng met in Switzerland on May 10 to discuss issues related to trade tariffs between the two nations.

In a statement, Bessent said: “I’m happy to report that we made substantial progress between the United States and China in the very important trade talks.” Stating that the details about the deal will be shared on Monday, he said the talks were productive.

US Trade Representative Ambassador Jamieson Greer said: “It’s important to understand how quickly we were able to come to agreement, which reflects that perhaps the differences were not so large as maybe thought.”

The recent tensions between the US and China over trade tariffs had impacted the prices of the crude oil in the global market. Both these economies are the major consumers of this commodity.

Meanwhile, the negotiations between the US and Iran on nuclear deal concluded in Oman on Sunday with further negotiations planned. Market players feel that a potential nuclear deal could help ease concerns over crude oil supplies from Iran.

May natural gas futures were trading at ₹316.60 on MCX during the initial hour of trading on Monday against the previous close of ₹322.40, down by 1.80 per cent.

Published on May 12, 2025