Oil gains amid US-China trade deal hopes, ECB talk of easing policy

Oil prices extended gains into a second session on Wednesday, buoyed by rekindled hopes for a US-China trade deal and potential economic stimulus from the European Central Bank (ECB).

Tensions in the Middle East after tanker attacks there last week also supported oil markets.

Brent crude futures were up 20 cents, or 0.3 percent, at $62.34 a barrel by 0644 GMT. They rose 2 percent on Tuesday.

US West Texas Intermediate crude gained 20 cents, or 0.4%, to $54.10 a barrel. The U.S. benchmark surged 3.8 percent in the last session.

In a post on Twitter, U.S. President Donald Trump said preparations were starting for him to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping at the G20 summit in Osaka, Japan, next week.

Talks between the United States and China broke down last month after Washington accused the Chinese of backing away from previously agreed commitments.

Interaction between the two sides since then has been limited, and Trump has threatened, repeatedly, to slap more tariffs on Chinese goods.

Meanwhile, ECB President Mario Draghi said on Tuesday that the central bank would ease policy again if inflation fails to accelerate, signalling a policy reversal as the trade war threatened his stimulus efforts.

"It looks like the market is a little bit stunned by the big turnaround in sentiment (on the outlook for prices)," said Michael McCarthy, chief market strategist at CMC Markets in Sydney.

"I suspect that the real driver here is the ECB statements, which are much more important in terms of support for the global economy," he said.

However, data showing that Japan's exports fell for a sixth straight month in May dragged on markets.