This came a day after US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping expressed a desire to sign an initial trade deal and defuse a 16-month tariff war that has lowered global growth – though Trump said he had yet to decide whether he wanted to finalize a deal while Xi said he would not be afraid to retaliate when necessary.
A move by China to protect intellectual property was also providing a supportive atmosphere for the trade talks, McCarthy added.
“This is a big step forward for potential trade negotiation if they are adopted as official policy,” he said.
Still, concern remains that events in Hong Kong, riven by months of anti-government unrest, could overshadow trade talk progress.
US national security adviser O’Brien warned on Saturday that Washington would not turn a blind eye to what happens in Hong Kong, where demonstrators remain angry at what they see as Beijing meddling in freedoms promised to the ex-British colony when it returned to Chinese rule more than 20 years ago.
Over the weekend, the city’s democrats won a landslide and symbolic majority in district council elections.
A potential supply cut by OPEC+ of three more months to mid-2020 when they meet over Dec. 5-6 could also push prices up. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries meets on Dec. 5 at its headquarters in Vienna, followed by talks with a group of other oil producers, lead by Russia, known as OPEC+.
“Oil may continue its roller-coaster ride again this week … risks remain around both trade and the imminent OPEC decision, but the latest evidence suggests expectations are more favorable for oil prices on both variables,” Stephen Innes, chief market strategist at AxiTrader, said in a note. — Reuters