Oil prices rose slightly on Friday after China said it was open to talks with the US on tariffs, raising hopes of de-escalation of the fierce trade war between the world's two largest economies and oil consumers, UNN reports, citing Reuters.
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Brent crude futures rose 9 cents, or 0.1%, to $62.22 a barrel at 08:04 GMT (11:04 Kyiv time), while WTI crude futures rose 6 cents, or 0.1%, to $59.30 a barrel.
Brent crude fell 7% for the week and WTI fell 6%, the biggest weekly drop in a month.
China's Ministry of Commerce said on Friday that Beijing is "assessing" a proposal by Washington to hold talks aimed at resolving the issue of US President Donald Trump's massive tariffs, a signal of a possible easing of trade tensions that have shaken global markets.
The US wants to start talks on tariffs with China - media01.05.25, 18:35
Fears that a larger trade war could push the global economy into recession and limit oil demand, just as the OPEC+ group prepares to increase production, have severely affected oil prices in recent weeks.
"There is some optimism about US-China relations, but the signs are still very preliminary," said Harry Chilinguirian, head of the research team at Onyx Capital Group. "The situation is still very volatile, one step forward, two steps back when it comes to tariffs."
Oil prices were also supported by Trump's threat to impose secondary sanctions on buyers of Iranian oil. China is the world's largest importer of Iranian crude oil.
Trump threatens sanctions against all countries that buy oil from Iran01.05.25, 23:36
Trump's comments followed the postponement of US talks with Iran over its nuclear program. He previously renewed a "maximum pressure" campaign on Iran, which included efforts to reduce the country's oil exports to zero to prevent Tehran from developing nuclear weapons.
Oil prices rose late in the session on Thursday and rose nearly 2% after Trump's remarks, offsetting some of the losses recorded earlier this week on expectations of more OPEC+ supplies coming to the market.
On Wednesday, Reuters reported that Saudi Arabia, the de facto leader of OPEC+, had informed allies and industry experts that it was unwilling to support oil prices with further supply cuts.
Several OPEC+ members intend to propose that the group accelerate production increases in June for the second month in a row, Reuters reported. Eight OPEC+ countries will meet on May 5 to decide on a production plan for June.
"Given the steady growth in supplies from non-OPEC+ countries and the structural decline in global demand, we do not see a natural point of return for these barrels, and eventually the group will likely have to endure some price difficulties, regardless of when it ends its cuts," BMI said in an analytical note.