Oil prices have increased by 1% on the hopes that a trade agreement between the US and China could be reached soon.

International Brent crude oil futures were up 1.1% at $64.35 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures rose 1.1% at $54.46 a barrel, Reuters reported.

Oil prices further gained by upbeat China trade data.

Optimism on the US-Sino trade agreement was boosted after US President Donald Trump said discussions were going ‘very well’.

Trump said that talks to resolve the trade war between the two countries are making good progress.

“Given the progress of the talks, there could be an extension, which is why there is rising optimism that the two leaders will meet later that month.”

Market strategists and policymakers are currently focusing too much on the trade agreement.

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Oanda senior market analyst Alfonso Esparza said: “The 90-day truce on trade agreed in December will run out on 1 March, but given the progress of the talks, there could be an extension, which is why there is rising optimism that the two leaders will meet later that month.”

Customs data revealed that last month China’s crude oil imports increased 4.8% to an average of 10.03Mbpd from the previous year.

Data published by the Energy Information Administration highlighted an increase in the US crude oil inventories to the highest since November 2017 as refiners cut runs to the lowest since October 2017.

The International Energy Agency said in a report that the global oil market will struggle to absorb fast-growing crude supply from outside the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) this year, even with the group’s production cuts and the US sanctions on Venezuela and Iran.