Bessent Plays Down Concern Over Any Trump China Trip Delay

Article content(Bloomberg) — Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent played down any implications from a potential delay of President Donald Trump’s trip to China, which was originally scheduled to begin later this month.Sign In or Create an AccountEmail AddressContinueor View more offersArticle content“There’s a false narrative out there that if the meetings are delayed,” it would be over Trump’s demand that China help to reopen the Strait of Hormuz first, Bessent said on CNBC Monday. “That’s completely false. So if the meeting, for some reason, is rescheduled, it would be rescheduled because of logistics.”Article contentWe apologize, but this video has failed to load.Try refreshing your browser, ortap here to see other videos from our team.Article contentArticle contentBessent said that if there is a delay, it would be because “the president wants to remain in DC to coordinate the war effort — and that traveling abroad at a time like this may not be optimal.”Article contentTop StoriesGet the latest headlines, breaking news and columns.There was an error, please provide a valid email address.Sign UpBy signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc.Thanks for signing up!A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder.The next issue of Top Stories will soon be in your inbox.We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try againInterested in more newsletters? Browse here.Article contentTrump told the Financial Times Sunday that he may delay his trip to Beijing, which is currently planned for March 31-April 2. He also called on China and other countries to help secure the Strait of Hormuz. China has not responded publicly to the demand.Article contentBessent was speaking in Paris, where he and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer had just wrapped up a day and a half of meetings with their Chinese counterparts.Article contentNo Oil ‘Crisis’Article contentHe said the meetings were “really good” and that markets should not react to any announcement of a possible postponement of the trip.Article contentThe teams discussed purchases of agriculture and other US goods. The US side explained the tariffs that Washington is in the process of reimposing after Trump lost a landmark Supreme Court case that deemed his emergency duties illegal.Article contentThe US Treasury chief also sought to downplay worries about global energy supplies, and predicted that oil prices would be “probably much lower” than $80 in a couple of months’ time.Article contentArticle contentBefore the conflict with Iran, there was about 20 million barrels a day of oil coming out of the Gulf, and currently there’s a deficit of “somewhere between 10 and 14,” Bessent said. Iran has about 140 million barrels of oil “on the water right now,” Saudi Arabia has supplies stored around the world they can release, and the International Energy Agency has agreed to discharge 400 million barrels from emergency oil reserves, he said.Article contentRussia also has been given “a short-term window” for its oil on the water, Bessent said.Article content“A lot of mainstream media are trying to speed this up, trying to make it into some crisis that it’s not,” he said. “This will end. And I don’t know how many weeks it will be, but on the other side of this, the world will be safer and we will be better supplied.”Article contentAsked about speculation that the Treasury could intervene in financial markets tied to oil in an effort to push down prices, Bessent said, “That rumor’s in the market. When there’s big, dynamic price action that always happens. We haven’t done that.”Article contentPressed on whether some kind of intervention might be done, the Treasury secretary said, “I’m not sure what authority, what auspices” might apply.Article content(Updates with comments on oil market starting in eighth paragraph.)Article contentTrending Subscriber only.

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The United States is losing its grip on Canada's steel market Subscriber only Commodities Posthaste: Even Americans are getting fed up with Donald Trump's tariffs News Saint John's port is booming as Ontario shippers seek to dodge U.S. tariffs Economy With an overconfident government in an unforgiving world, investors should be strategic about Canadian holdings Investor Bank of Canada more likely to cut than hike after 'brutal' jobs report, say economists Economy