By Devika Krishna Kumar NEW YORK (Reuters) – Oil prices rose nearly 4% on Friday on signs of progress in U.S.-China trade talks and stronger-than-expected economic data in both countries, including U.S. employment and Chinese manufacturing activity numbers. Brent crude ended the session up $2.07, or 3.5%, at $61.69 a barrel, but notched a drop of about 0.4% for the week. West Texas Intermediate crude settled $2.02, or 3.7% higher at $56.20 a barrel, but fell about 0.8% in the week. U.S.-China trade talks are progressing well and the United States aims to sign an initial deal this month, top Trump administration officials said, offering reassurance to global markets after nearly 16 months of tit-for-tat tariffs. Beijing’s state-media Xinhua News Agency said the world’s two largest economies had reached "consensus on principles" during a serious and constructive telephone call on Friday between their main trade negotiators. U.S. and Chinese negotiators had made "enormous progress" toward finalizing a "phase one" agreement, although the deal was not yet 100% complete, White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow told reporters. "You’re going to get a strong reaction from what seems like a deal for now," said John Kilduff, a partner at Again Capital […]
