Oil rises 1% amid hopes of easing trade tensions

Oil drilling rigs

Oil prices rose at the close of trading today, Oct. 13, recouping some of last week's losses amid hopes of trade talks between the Chinese and US presidents.

Brent crude futures for December delivery rose 0.94%, or 59 cents, to settle at $63.32 a barrel. WTI crude futures for November delivery jumped 1%, or 59 cents, to $59.49 a barrel.

Gold prices suffered sharp losses at the close of last week after US President Donald Trump imposed an additional 100% tariff on China in response to its tightening of export restrictions on rare earths.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump cast doubt on the possibility of a planned meeting between him and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, in South Korea in early November on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum.

But US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer told reporters on Sunday that the meeting could still take place, helping to calm concerns about escalating tensions between the world's two largest economies.

On the demand side, Chinese customs data showed that China's crude oil imports rose 3.9% year-on-year to 11.5 million barrels per day in September.