- Oil Prices Rise Amid Trade Deal
Global oil prices rose slightly during the Asian trading session on Thursday after the U.S and China signed the first phase of the trade deal.
The Brent Crude oil, against which Nigerian oil is priced, gained 1.17 percent to $64.75 a barrel while the US West Texas Intermediate oil, WTI, grew by 0.92 percent to $58.34 per barrel.
President Trump had lifted tariffs on $120 billion worth of Chinese products and maintained that the remaining tariffs will only be off after the next phase of the deal is completed.
Trump described the tariffs as leverage to keep the Chinese in check.
“We have pretty strong cards,” said Trump. “Nobody really understood the deal until today when we released it, so it’s a much bigger deal than people thought.”
While oil traders are uncertain the $120 billion tariffs’ relief would impact global oil demand and bolster oil prices, Robert Lighthizer, the US trade representative said the agreement will only work if China wants it to work.
“The agreement will work if China wants it to work, the people in China I’m dealing with want it to work,”
Lighthizer stated.
However, Joe Biden, the former Vice-President and front runner of Democratic presidential nomination, said: “China is the big winner of Trump’s ‘phase-one’ trade deal with Beijing.”
“True to form, Trump is getting precious little in return for the significant pain and uncertainty he has imposed on our economy, farmers, and workers. The deal won’t actually resolve the real issues at the heart of the dispute,” he added.
“This deal provides much-needed certainty to American businesses as they start the new year,” said Tom Donohue, chief executive of the US Chamber of Commerce, the largest lobby group for corporate America. “We hope this deal will usher in a new era of trust between the two countries and pave the way for phase two negotiations to begin in a timely manner.”
