Oil Rises on Trade Talk Hopes, Potential First Trade Deal


   
Karim Bastati
DTN Analyst

   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 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%.




(c) Copyright 2025 DTN, LLC. All rights reserved.