Oil prices rise over US-Japan trade deal

Oil prices increased in Asian trade on Wednesday, July 23, 225, as a United States trade deal with Japan signalled progress on tariffs.

Brent crude futures rose 21 cents, or 0.31%, to $68.80 a barrel by 0351 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures gained 17 cents, or 0.26%, at $65.48 per barrel.

Both benchmarks were down about 1% in the previous session after the European Union (EU) said it was considering countermeasures against U.S. tariffs, as hope faded for a deal ahead of an August 1 deadline.

President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that the U.S. and Japan had struck a trade deal that includes a 15% tariff on U.S. imports from Japan.

Trump added that Japan had agreed on $550 billion in investments in the U.S.

Meanwhile, industry expectations are low for Thursday’s EU-China summit, which will test the bloc’s unity and resolve amid mounting trade tensions with both Beijing and Washington.

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“The slide (in prices) of the past three sessions appears to have abated but I don’t expect much of an upward impetus from news of the U.S.-Japan trade deal as the hurdles and delays being reported in talks with the EU and China will remain a drag on sentiment,” Vandana Hari, founder of oil market analysis provider Vanda Insights, told Reuters.

China’s commerce minister and the European Union’s trade chief had a “candid and in-depth” discussion on economic and trade cooperation as well as other issues that both sides face ahead of the summit, the Chinese ministry said on Wednesday.

Separately, U.S. crude and gasoline stocks fell last week, market sources said, citing American Petroleum Institute figures on Tuesday. Distillate stocks rose by 3.48 million barrels, they added.

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