2018.12.0306:11:00UTC+00Oil Prices Surge Over 4 Percent After U.S.-China Trade Truce

Oil prices rose over 4 percent on Monday as trade tensions eased and investors pinned hopes that crude exporters would agree to cut output at OPEC's policy meeting on December 6.

Global benchmark Brent crude jumped a little over 4 percent to $61.87 per barrel while U.S. crude futures traded higher by 4.4 percent at $53.17 per barrel.

U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed to a 90-day truce on their escalating trade war during a weekend meeting in Argentina, helping ease investor concerns over slowing global growth.

Trump promised to suspend new tariffs on Chinese products, meaning that no additional tariffs will be imposed after January 1.

As part of the deal, China will increase its purchase of American farm produce, energy and some industrial goods so as to reduce the trade deficit between the two countries.

Producer club OPEC meets this week, with analysts expecting an output cut by 500,000 barrels a day amid concerns of a supply glut and demand slowdown.

Oil prices also found support from an announcement by the Canadian province of Alberta that there would be an industrywide 8.7 percent cut in oil output to deal with the supply glut.

Meanwhile, the tiny, wealthy Persian Gulf state of Qatar said today it would pull out of Saudi-dominated OPEC in January and focus on its gas industry.