Oil prices climbed over 3% in Asian trading on Monday (12), touching fresh intraday highs after the United States and China agreed to ease tariffs for a 90-day period, reviving hopes of a trade breakthrough.
Brent crude rose as high as $66.30 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) hit $63.41.
The rally in crude was driven by a joint statement from Geneva, where both nations announced a temporary rollback of trade levies. The combined 145% US duties on most Chinese imports will be reduced to 30%, including the rate linked to fentanyl. In return, China’s 125% tariffs on US goods will be cut to 10%. The easing is effective from May 14.
At the time of reporting, Brent crude was up 2.5% at $64.14 per barrel, while WTI was trading 2.7% higher at $63.14.
The prospect of improved trade flows between the world’s two largest economies buoyed global sentiment, with investors betting on a recovery in energy demand and industrial activity. Both benchmarks had logged gains of over 4% last week, marking their first weekly rise since mid-April.
Meanwhile, Indian equity markets were quick to react to the global mood shift. The Nifty Metal index surged up to 5%, with all 15 constituents trading in the green.
The Nifty IT index jumped 5.4%, as stocks like Infosys, HCLTech, Persistent Systems, Mphasis, Tech Mahindra and Wipro posted gains of up to 8%.
The announcement follows earlier reports of “substantial progress” in US-China talks and marks a key moment in de-escalating trade tensions that had dented global growth and trade volumes.
-With Agencies inputs
