Brent, WTI Prices Rise

Oil prices rose on Monday, buoyed by output cuts by producer club OPEC and reports that the United States and China are close to a deal to end a bitter tariff row that has slowed global economic growth.

International Brent futures were at $65.25 a barrel, up 18 cents, or 0.3%, from their last close, CNBC reported.

US West Texas Intermediate crude futures were at $55.94 per barrel, up 14 cents, or 0.3%.

The rally followed reports that the United States and China are close to ending their year-long trade dispute.

The two countries appear close to a deal that would roll back US tariffs on at least $200 billion worth of Chinese goods, as Beijing makes pledges on structural economic changes and eliminates retaliatory tariffs on US goods, a source briefed on negotiations said on Monday in Washington.

Hopes of an end to the trade spat between the two world’s biggest economies added support to a market that has been rallying for the past two months on cuts to production.

The “substantive progress” China and the US have made in their trade talks has been “well-received” in both countries and around the world, a senior Chinese official said on Monday.

Supply from OPEC fell to a four-year low in February, a Reuters survey found, as top exporter Saudi Arabia and its allies over-delivered on the group’s supply pact while Venezuelan output registered a further involuntary decline.

“OPEC exports are off by over 1.5 million barrels per day since November,” Barclays bank said in a note released Sunday.

source: Financial Tribune