London May 12 2025: Oil prices rose more than $2 in Asian trading on Monday after the U.S. and China said they would ease some of their tariff measures, lifting market sentiment that the world’s two largest crude users may be moving toward resolving their trade dispute.
Brent crude futures climbed $2.11, or 3.3%, to $64.14 a barrel by 0714 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were trading at $63.14 a barrel, up $2.12, or 3.47%, from Friday’s close.
Both sides said on Monday they would suspend 24% of additional ad valorem tariffs on goods from the other country for an initial period of 90 days, in a joint statement following trade talks in Geneva over the weekend.
Both benchmarks rose more than $1 on Friday and gained over 4% last week for their first weekly gains since mid-April, after a U.S. trade deal with Britain swelled investors’ optimism that economic disruptions from U.S. tariffs on trading partners may be avoided.
The United States and China had ended trade talks on a positive note on Sunday, with U.S. officials touting a “deal” to reduce the U.S. trade deficit, while Chinese officials said both had reached “important consensus”.
