Oil posts biggest weekly gain in five weeks on trade optimism

CALGARY (Bloomberg) - Oil posted the biggest weekly gain in more than a month as supplies tightened and the White House signaled progress on U.S.-China trade talks.

Futures in New York rose for a fourth day. U.S. crude stockpiles fell for the first time in six weeks, the EIA said Wednesday, while a critical North Sea oil pipeline was briefly shut Thursday. The U.S. and China “seem to be on the glide path” to a possible signing of phase one of a trade deal in Chile next month, a White House adviser told Fox News.

“We are a little optimistic that there will be a China-U.S. Trade deal,” Bart Melek, commodity strategist at Toronto Dominion Bank, said by phone.

Oil is down about 15% from an April peak as the trade spat between Washington and Beijing dents demand, though President Donald Trump has raised expectations that he and Chinese President Xi Jinping are making progress.

“We’re doing very well with China” and “they want to make a deal very badly,” the president told reporters outside of the White House Friday.

West Texas Intermediate for December delivery rose $0.43 to settle at $56.66/bbl on the New York Mercantile Exchange for a weekly rise of 5.4%.

Brent for December settlement climbed $0.35 to close at $62.02/bbl on the London-based ICE Futures Europe Exchange. Prices are 4.4% higher this week. The global benchmark crude traded at a $5.36 premium to WTI.