Oil prices gained on Wednesday as escalating geopolitical tensions and optimism over a potential US-China trade deal shaped market sentiment.
Brent crude was trading at $62.05 per barrel at 10.14 a.m. local time (0714 GMT), up 1.1% from the previous close of $61.36.
US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) also rose 1.2% to $58.23, compared to $57.53 in the prior session.
Heightened geopolitical risks from the prolonged Russia-Ukraine conflict continued to fuel supply concerns, while hopes of improved trade ties between the world’s two largest economies supported the demand outlook.
US President Donald Trump played down prospects for a second meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday, as plans for a Budapest summit were shelved amid a stalemate over efforts to secure a long-sought ceasefire in Ukraine.
"I do not want to have a wasted meeting. I do not want to have a waste of time. So I will see what happens," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office, where he was hosting a Diwali celebration.
Plans for a second summit between Trump and Putin were put on hold after a call between Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov that a White House official described as "productive."
Trump had announced on Oct. 16, following a phone call with Putin, that he planned to meet the Russian leader in Budapest within two weeks, with Lavrov and Rubio expected to finalize details this week. That meeting was also canceled, the official said.
The reason for the sudden reversal was not immediately clear, but Moscow has resisted Trump's demand for a ceasefire in Ukraine that would freeze current frontlines in the Kremlin's more than three-year war.
Trump is slated to meet NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte at the White House during the day.
The prolonged Russia-Ukraine war is stoking market concerns over potential fresh disruptions to oil supplies, particularly as Kyiv has stepped up strikes on Moscow's energy infrastructure this year.
- Eyes on US-China meeting
Meanwhile, US President Trump's conflicting comments about his planned meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping kept markets on edge.
Trump said Tuesday he expected to strike a "good" trade deal with Xi during next week's Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in South Korea, even as he cautioned that the highly anticipated talks could still be called off.
"So now we are going to have a fair deal, and I think we are going to have a very successful meeting. Certainly, there are a lot of people waiting for it," Trump said. He later added, "Maybe it will not happen. Things can happen where, for instance, maybe somebody will say, 'I do not want to meet. It is too nasty.' But it is really not nasty."
Trump first announced on Sept. 19 that he would meet Xi in South Korea. Analysts say a potential agreement on tariffs between the two countries could boost economic activity and in turn support higher oil demand.
Moreover, on the demand side, data pointing to lower US crude inventories signaled tightening supply conditions.
The American Petroleum Institute estimated that US commercial crude stockpiles fell by 2.98 million barrels last week, suggesting robust demand and adding upward pressure on prices.
Official figures from the US Energy Information Administration are due later in the day.
By Duygu Alhan
Anadolu Agency
energy@aa.com.tr
