Yen tries to regain footing under negative pressure

Oil prices rose over 1% on Thursday on hopes for a trade deal between China and the US, the two biggest oil consumers worldwide. 

Brent futures rose 86 cents, or 1.4% to $61.98 a barrel, while West Texas crude prices rose 97 cents, or 1.7% to $59.03 a barrel as of 11:20 GMT.

SEB analysts note that as the markets settle above $61 a barrel, it provides strong support, accompanied by optimism on tariffs as the US and China prepare to commence talks.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will meet senior Chinese officials on May 10 in Switzerland to discuss a potential end to the trade war, which would boost fuel demand. 

Conversely, OPEC+ continue to increase their oil output, heaping pressure on prices.

City Research analysts reduced their outlook  for three-month Brent price to $55 a barrel from $60, but kept long-term forecasts at $60 this year.

They believe that a US-Iran nuclear deal could push Brent towards $50 a barrel, as supplies flood the markets, but failure to reach a deal would boost prices to over $70.

The Energy Information Administration reported a drop of 2 million barrels in US crude stocks last week to 438.4 million barrels, while analysts expected a drop of 1.3 million barrels.

Gasoline stocks rose 0.2 million barrels to 225.7 million barrels, as distillate stocks fell 1.1 million barrels to 106.7 million barrels.