DTN Oil Update
Oil Rises on Trade Talk Hopes, Potential First Trade Deal
VIENNA (DTN) -- Oil futures rose Thursday morning following U.S. President Trump hinting at the first successful trade deal to be announced later today. This came the day after Chinese officials confirmed the first official trade negotiations with their U.S. counterparts scheduled for Saturday in Switzerland, sparking hopes of a reversal or softening of recently implemented U.S. trade and tariff policies.
NYMEX-traded WTI for June delivery was up $0.89 barrel (bbl) to trade near $58.96 bbl, and ICE Brent for July delivery rose $0.75 bbl to $61.87 bbl.
June RBOB gasoline futures gained $0.0258 to $2.0536 gallon, while the front-month ULSD futures contract was up $0.0234 to $2.0000 gallon.
The U.S. Dollar Index strengthened by 0.350 points to 99.785.
The trade deal announcement on Truth Social was being teased as the "first of many," leading investors to take more bullish positions after U.S. tariff policy has led to a souring of demand growth outlooks over the past few weeks.
Prices were also supported by shrinking U.S. crude oil inventories. The Energy Information Administration on Wednesday reported a 2-million-bbl draw to commercial crude oil stocks in the week ending May 2. The second consecutive weekly draw brought domestic commercial inventories to 438.4 million bbls, trailing year-ago levels by 4.6%.