Jump (in) oil prices
The price of oil jumped more than 1.5 percent on Monday, driven by optimism that talks in Beijing could end the US-China trade war, while crude also received support from supply cuts to a number of top producers.
Brent crude futures were $ 57.93 a barrel, up 87 cents, or 1.5 percent, from the previous close.
US West Texas Intermediate crude futures were $ 48.76 a barrel, up 80 cents, or 1.7 percent.
Financial markets saw a rally on Monday on expectations that direct trade negotiations between delegates from Washington and Beijing, starting on Monday, would ease tensions between the world’s two largest economies.
The United States and China have entered into a growing trade dispute since the beginning of 2018. Both have increased import duties on other goods. The dispute is negatively affecting economic growth.
Goldman Sachs said in a note today it had lowered its forecast for the average price of Brent crude for 2019 from $ 70 a barrel to $ 62.50 a barrel because of “the strongest adverse macroeconomic factors since 2015.”
JPMorgan said in a note last week that “the pace of global growth of three percent we expect for the next two quarters is increasingly challenging, apparently.”