Oil prices keep rising
By Sara Israfilbayova
World oil prices are rising on Monday, investors are playing out reports of easing tensions in U.S.-China trade relations.
Brent crude futures rose by 0.7 percent to $79.06 a barrel, U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $71.86 a barrel, up 0.69 percent RIA Novosti reported.
Investors reacted positively to news about trade relations between the US and China. Finance Minister Steven Mnuchin on May 20 confirmed the suspension of the introduction of reciprocal trade duties and noted the significant progress in the negotiations on trade.
In Washington on May 17-18 consultations were held between trade delegations of the United States and China. Following the results of the joint statement, the parties agreed to take effective measures to reduce the deficit of the US trade balance against China, by increasing exports of goods and services to the republic. In particular, the parties agreed to significantly increase the export of agricultural goods and energy.
De-escalation of the trade dispute will happen after some time through negotiations, analysts of Morgan Stanley bank believe.
“Both sides plan to work on the implementation of purchases in agriculture and energy and continue negotiations on trade ... in the coming months,” Reuters reported.
OPEC and non-OPEC producers reached an agreement in December 2016 to curtail oil output jointly and ease a global glut after more than two years of low prices. OPEC agreed to slash the output by 1.2 million barrels per day from January 1.
Non-OPEC oil producers such as Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Brunei, Equatorial Guinea, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Mexico, Oman, Russia, Sudan, and South Sudan agreed to reduce output by 558,000 barrels per day starting from January 1, 2017.
OPEC and its partners decided to extend its production cuts till the end of 2018 in Vienna on November 30, as the oil cartel and its allies step up their attempt to end a three-year supply glut that has savaged crude prices and the global energy industry.
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Sara Israfilbayova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Sara_999Is
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