Crude oil futures decline despite Trump-Xi trade talks

Crude oil futures traded lower on Friday morning, despite a direct phone call between the US and Chinese presidents to discuss trade-related issues.

At 9.39 am on Friday, August Brent oil futures were at $65.16, down by 0.28 per cent, and July crude oil futures on WTI (West Texas Intermediate) were at $63.18, down by 0.30 per cent. June crude oil futures were trading at ₹5427 on Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) during the initial hour of trading on Friday against the previous close of ₹5442, down by 0.28 per cent, and July futures were trading at ₹5372 against the previous close of ₹5388, down by 0.30 per cent.

Chinese news agency Xinhua said that Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday held phone talks with US President Donald Trump at the latter’s request.

Quoting a Chinese government summary, a Reuters report said Xi told Trump to back down from trade measures that roiled the global economy during the more than one-hour-long call. He also warned Trump against threatening steps on Taiwan.

In a post on the social media platform Truth Social, Trump said: “I just concluded a very good phone call with President Xi, of China, discussing some of the intricacies of our recently made, and agreed to, Trade Deal. The call lasted approximately one and a half hours, and resulted in a very positive conclusion for both Countries. There should no longer be any questions respecting the complexity of Rare Earth products. Our respective teams will be meeting shortly at a location to be determined. We will be represented by Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent, Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, and United States Trade Representative, Ambassador Jamieson Greer.

“During the conversation, President Xi graciously invited the First Lady and me to visit China, and I reciprocated. As Presidents of two Great Nations, this is something that we both look forward to doing. The conversation was focused almost entirely on TRADE. Nothing was discussed concerning Russia/Ukraine, or Iran. We will inform the Media as to scheduling and location of the soon to be meeting. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”

Recent tensions between the US and China over trade tariffs have impacted crude oil prices in the global market in recent weeks.

Citing Ukrainian authorities, some media reports said on Friday that Russia launched missile and drone attacks on at many targets in Ukraine. This follows recent drone attacks by Ukraine on Russian air bases.

Reports also mentioned that the continued hostilities between Russia and Ukraine may force the US to impose stricter sanctions on Russia’s crude oil industry. This may impact the supply of the commodity from that country. Russia is one of the major producers of crude oil in the global market.

June natural gas futures were trading at ₹317.90 on MCX during the initial hour of trading on Friday against the previous close of ₹319.70, down by 0.56 per cent.