The official Xinhua news agency reported that the talks were held at Trump’s request, without providing further details about the leaders’ conversation.
Brent crude futures were up 48 cents, or 0.74%, to close at $65.34 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude rose 52 cents, or 0.83%, to settle at $63.37 a barrel.
“If we step back from the brink of a major trade war, it will increase demand expectations for oil both in the U.S. and in China,” said Phil Flynn, senior analyst with Price Futures Group.
Trump said on social media his call with Xi focused primarily on trade and led to “a very positive conclusion.” He announced further lower-level U.S.-China discussions, saying “there should no longer be any questions respecting the complexity of Rare Earth products.”
“We’re in very good shape with China and the trade deal,” he told reporters later.
The official Xinhua news agency reported earlier that the talks were held at Trump’s request.
The news encouraged investors a day after oil fell 1% as data showed U.S. gasoline and distillate stockpiles grew more than expected, reflecting weaker demand in the world’s largest economy.
Geopolitical events and wildfires in Canada that threaten to reduce oil production are providing further price support, despite a potentially oversupplied market in the second half of the year with expected OPEC+ production hikes, PVM analyst Tamas Varga said.
Curbing gains on Thursday, Saudi Arabia, the world’s biggest oil exporter, cut its July prices for Asian crude buyers to nearly the lowest level in two months.
The Saudi price cut followed a move by OPEC+ last weekend to increase output by 411,000 barrels per day (bpd) for July.
The strategy of Saudi Arabia, OPEC’s de facto leader, is partly to punish over-producers by potentially unwinding 2.2 million bpd between June and the end of October, in a bid to wrestle back market share, Reuters previously reported.
Data on Wednesday showed the U.S. services sector contracted in May for the first time in nearly a year.
The number of Americans filing new applications for unemployment benefits increased for the week ending May 31, marking the second straight weekly jump, the Labor Department said on Thursday, citing softening labor market conditions amid mounting economic headwinds from Trump’s tariffs.
The release on Friday of the U.S. nonfarm payrolls report for May could influence the U.S. Federal Reserve’s interest rate policy, while the market’s focus will be also on geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo said.