Oil Edges Higher as Trump Signals Announcement on Trade Deal
(Bloomberg) -- Oil rose after Donald Trump flagged a Thursday announcement on a trade deal, which is expected to be with the UK, as the US president faces political pressure following tariffs that rattled global markets.
Brent climbed toward $62 a barrel after falling 1.7% in the previous session, and West Texas Intermediate was near $59. While Trump didn’t identify the country or details about the agreement in a Truth Social post, people familiar with the matter said it was expected to be with the UK.
The news of an agreement comes ahead of trade talks between US and Chinese officials this week, though Trump said on Wednesday that he’s unwilling to preemptively lower tariffs on China to jump-start negotiations.
Crude has been on a recent downward trajectory due to concerns around the potential hit to global growth from Trump’s sweeping tariffs, as well as recent OPEC+ decisions to boost idled output. American shale producers are cutting spending in the Permian Basin following the slide in oil prices.
“News on trade deal is definitely helping market sentiment,” said Soni Kumari, a commodity strategist with ANZ Group Holdings in Bengaluru. “While market sentiment still looks downbeat due to uncertain demand prospects and increasing supply from OPEC+, fundamentals are not that bearish yet.”
In the US, crude inventories fell for a second week to the lowest level since late March, according to the Energy Information Administration. Stockpiles at the oil storage hub at Cushing, Oklahoma, also shrank.
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