Brent crude rises as Trump says China wants US oil, Hormuz fears persist

Brent crude rose on Friday as traders balanced a potentially softer US-China energy backdrop.

The climb in oil prices followed remarks from US President Donald Trump about potential Chinese purchases of American oil, amid a still-tense supply picture in the Middle East.

Brent futures climbed to $107.32 a barrel and West Texas Intermediate to $101.71, extending a week dominated by headlines on the Strait of Hormuz and the broader Iran war.

The move was not just about China or Trump’s comments alone.

It was also about ships being seized, vessels being attacked, and the market’s continuing fear that a critical oil corridor could remain disrupted for longer than expected.

Trump’s oil claim lifted sentiment, but the details remain thin

The immediate catalyst was US President Donald Trump’s assertion that China wants to buy oil from the United States.

“They have agreed they want to buy oil from the United States, they are going to go to Texas, we are going to start sending Chinese ships to Texas and to Louisiana and to Alaska,” Trump said.

But the market is treating that more as a signal than a done deal.

The White House said Xi Jinping had expressed interest in buying more US oil to reduce China’s dependence on the Strait of Hormuz, while US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said energy had been discussed and that Alaska could be a “natural” source.

Beijing, however, did not confirm any energy purchase in its official summaries of the meeting, and China’s foreign ministry did not comment.

That gap matters, as China has not imported any US oil since May 2025 due to the 20% tariffs imposed during the trade war.

That makes any meaningful restart of flows dependent on tariff relief, not just upbeat language from Washington.

Even at its peak, US crude was never a major supplier to China, reaching about 395,000 barrels per day in 2020, or just under 4% of China’s total imports.

The real floor under prices is still geopolitics

For the oil market, the stronger support remains due to supply anxiety around Hormuz.

As per the latest reports from the region, a ship was seized off the United Arab Emirates and another vessel, an Indian cargo ship carrying livestock, was sunk off Oman.

Those incidents kept traders focused on the risk to maritime flows, even as Iran said around 30 vessels had crossed the strait since Wednesday evening.

That is better than a full shutdown, but still well below the pre-war daily average of 140 crossings.

The White House said Trump and Xi agreed that the Strait of Hormuz must stay open for the free flow of energy.

US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer later said China was being pragmatic about Iran and that it was important for Beijing to keep the passage open.

For markets, that message helped sentiment, but it did not remove the larger problem: the waterway remains vulnerable, and the geopolitical risk premium is still embedded in prices.

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