NEW YORK: Oil rose more than 1 per cent on Thursday, as progress on another major trade deal fed optimism that energy demand will grow in 2020.

The US Senate approved a revamp of the US-Mexico-Canada Free Trade Agreement a day after the signing of the Phase 1 trade deal between U.S and China.

Brent was up 95 cents, or 1.4pc, to $64.95 a barrel by 1637 GMT, and US West Texas Intermediate crude rose by $1.02, or 1.8pc, to $58.83 a barrel.

The US Senate on Thursday approved a revamp of the 26-year-old North American Free Trade Agreement. A day earlier, US and Chinese leaders signed the Phase 1 trade deal that calls for the world’s largest importer to buy $50bn more of US oil, liquefied natural gas and other energy products over two years.

Trade sources said sharply higher Chinese purchases of US energy products as part of the China-US trade deal will shake up global crude oil trade flows if American supplies squeeze rival crudes out of the top oil import market.

Published in Dawn, January 17th, 2020