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.
Week-over-week, both benchmarks gained over 4%.
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.
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.
