WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Oil prices edged higher on Friday, and were on course to end three weeks of decline after U.S. President Donald Trump announced a delay in implementing reciprocal tariffs until April, raising hopes for negotiations.
Benchmark Brent crude futures rose half a percent to $75.36 a barrel in European trade, while WTI crude futures were up 0.3 percent at $71.48. Both benchmarks remain on track for weekly gains of around 1 percent.
Trump has signed a Presidential memo on reciprocal tariffs for more balanced trade, with Howard Lutnick, Trump's Commerce Secretary nominee, saying he anticipates the investigation will be complete by April 1.
It is then up to Trump to decide, as of April 2, when to enact any of the new recommended tariffs, he said.
The tariffs, if implemented, could dent global economic growth, and thus the demand for fuel.
Meanwhile, traders are pinning hopes of an end to the Russia-Ukraine war after Trump spoke to presidents of Russia and Ukraine over phone.
There are expectations that a potential peace deal between Ukraine and Russia would usher in the end of sanctions affecting supply flows.
Media reports suggest that Ukraine's President Zelenskiy won't engage in talks with Russia at the upcoming Munich Conference.
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