Oil set for weekly gain on optimism ahead of US-China trade talks

Oil prices rose around 1% on Friday and were set for their first weekly gains since mid-April as a U.S. trade deal with United Kingdom turned investors optimistic ahead of talks between top officials from Washington and Beijing.

Brent crude rose by 61 cents, or 1%, to $63.45 a barrel by 12:29 p.m. ET (1629 GMT). U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was up 57 cents, or about 1%, at $60.48.

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday that China should open up its market to the United States and that 80% tariffs on Chinese goods "seems right", a day after he announced a deal lowering tariffs on British car and steel exports, among other agreements with the United Kingdom.

"Energy markets - as bearish as they've been - are finally shaking off some of the pessimism and catching the broader market optimism that's showing back up as progress on trade relationships has begun," said Alex Hodes, oil analyst at brokerage StoneX.

The UK agreement and Trump's comments on China have raised hopes that similar deals could be reached between Washington and Beijing, with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent set to meet with China's top economic official Vice Premier He Lifeng in Switzerland on May 10.

Current U.S. tariffs on Chinese imports stand at 145%.

"While prohibitively high, you can't knock the math ... 80% is substantially less than 145%," Hodes wrote to clients.