Crude oil futures were higher in mid-morning trade in Asia Thursday as optimism emerged after the US and China signed Phase 1 of the trade agreement. At 11:08 am Singapore time (0308 GMT), front-month March ICE Brent crude futures were up 45 cents/b (0.70%) from Wednesday’s settle at $64.45/b, while the NYMEX February light sweet crude contract was up 40 cents/b (0.69%) at $58.21/b. The overall sentiment in Asian markets ticked up Thursday morning after the deal was signed Wednesday. Under the deal, China will purchase $50 billion worth of US energy products over the next two years. “The ‘Phase-1’ deal has been inked, and the most positive aspect of the deal is that this materially diminishes uncertainty around US-China trade relations in the short-term,” Mizuho Bank’s senior economist Vishnu Varathan said. “But this is a tentative […]