Crude oil prices started trading this week with a gain despite mixed signals from Washington regarding tariff negotiations with China.
At the time of writing, Brent crude was trading at $67.03 per barrel, with West Texas Intermediate at $63.22 per barrel, after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Sunday he was not involved in any talks with Chinese officials. The statement followed claims by President Trump that there were ongoing tariff talks with the Chinese side and that he had spoken with China’s President Xi Jinping.
Bessent said he had spoken with Chinese officials at the recent gathering of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank but not about tariffs. “I had interaction with my Chinese counterpart, but it was more on the traditional things like financial stability, global economic early warnings,” Bessent said.
The Chinese side has denied that there were any talks underway.
Even so, prices are trending higher. Part of the reason seems to be the absence of any significant news, at least according to one trading platform chief. “Absence of news is pushing oil prices modestly higher as traders are positioned short ahead of potential increased OPEC+ supply from the May 5 meeting and a significant production boost in the USA,” Moomoo Australia’s Michael McCarthy told Reuters.
Meanwhile, the Trump administration appears not to be in a rush to close any trade deals with those eager for them. Reuters reported that no deals at all were signed during last week’s IMF-World Bank Spring Meetings, which saw world leaders gather in one place to discuss trade. This suggests extended tariff uncertainty, which means extended oil price uncertainty.
The physical market, however, is showing some bullish signs, according to ING, which last week noted that “signs of tightness in the prompt physical market should continue to support the oil market. This tightness can be seen in the strengthening of timespreads.”
By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com
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