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Oil steadied as traders waited for details on US-China trade talks, after both countries reported “substantial progress” following two days of negotiations aimed at de-escalating a trade war that threatens crude demand.

Brent traded around $64 a barrel, paring an advance in early Asian trading after last week notching up its first weekly gain in three, while West Texas Intermediate was near $61.

After negotiations in Geneva, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said that they were upbeat on progress and would share more information on Monday, with the positive sentiment echoed by their Chinese counterparts.

US President Donald Trump said he plans to order a cut in US prescription drug costs by mandating that Americans pay no more than people in countries that have the lowest price.

Trump said in a social media post that he’ll sign the executive order at 9 AM Monday in Washington.

While predicting that pharmaceutical prices could drop 30% to 80% in the US, Trump also said prices would likely “rise throughout the World in order to equalize and, for the first time in many years, bring FAIRNESS TO AMERICA!”

Asia-Pacific markets rose Monday over optimism that US-China trade tensions could de-escalate following the superpowers’ talks in Switzerland over the weekend.

Both countries alluded to a positive conclusion of the high-stakes trade talks, with US officials touting a deal to reduce its trade deficit, while Chinese leaders said that they have arrived at an “important consensus.”

Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 added 0.36% in early trade while the broader Topix index moved 0.19% higher. In South Korea, the Kospi index advanced 0.67% while the small-cap Kosdaq fell 0.24% in early trade.

Gold fell as its haven status was impacted by signs of progress in trade talks between US and China, along with some relief to geopolitical tensions.

Bullion fell as much as 2.5% in early trading in Asia, following a weekly gain of 2.6% as investors focused on the outcome of upcoming trade talks between the world’s two largest economies.

The US and China both reported “substantial progress” after two days of talks in Switzerland aimed at de-escalating a trade war, although neither side immediately announced specific measures.

Investors will also be watching as Donald Trump’s effort to secure peace in Ukraine reaches a decisive moment, with Volodymyr Zelenskiy challenging Vladimir Putin to engage in talks this week.

Vice Premier of the People’s Republic of China He Lifeng said the meeting “achieved substantial progress and reached important consensus.”

“The two sides agreed on establishing a consultation mechanism for trade and economic issues,” Lifeng said.

China International Trade Representative Li Chenggang suggested that a statement would be coming soon with more details on the negotiations, but did not say when the statement would be released.

“It’s important to understand how quickly we were able to come to agreement, which reflects that perhaps the differences were not so large as maybe thought,” US trade representative Jamieson Greer said.

“We’re confident that the deal we struck with our Chinese partners will help us work toward resolving that national emergency,” he added.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Sunday that the trade talks that took place in Geneva over the weekend were “productive.”

He said the talks yielded “a great deal” of productivity and that he would give more details in a complete briefing on Monday morning.

US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said during remarks on Sunday that the officials reached some form of a “deal,” but did not provide any specifics. He hailed the discussions as “very constructive.”

Futures on Wall Street have seen a sharp surge on Sunday evening US time, after the Trump administration and China, both cited “substantial progress” on trade talks that took place over the weekend in Geneva, Switzerland.

The Dow futures are up 440 points, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures are up 70 points and 280 points respectively.

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US and China have both cited substantial progress in their trade talks, which took place in Geneva over the weekend.

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