Beijing continues to defy U.S. sanctions as the leading importer of Iranian oil and the second-largest buyer of Russian crude, much of which is funneled through a growing fleet of untracked "ghost ships.

After a “constructive” round of talks ahead of an Aug. 12 deadline, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said “nothing is agreed until we speak with President Trump.”

The US and China have wrapped up another round of trade talks without any major breakthroughs, despite discussions that both sides described as "constructive".

Chinese and American trade negotiators concluded their two-day meeting in Stockholm without a resolution to avert tariffs from skyrocketing back to ultra-high levels that formed an effective blockade on trade between the world’s two largest economies.

Tariff talks between the US and China are winding down in Stockholm with expectations of a 90-day pause that would keep current rates in place and possibly pave the way for a Trump–Xi Jinping meeting later this year.

Gold prices edged higher on Tuesday as investors awaited the outcome of U.S.-China trade talks and the Federal Reserve's policy meeting. Spot gold rose 0.3% to $3,322.29 per ounce, by 12:16 ET (16:16 GMT).

Chinese and U.S. trade officials have arrived for a second day of meetings in the Swedish capital Tuesday to try to break a logjam over tariffs that have skewed the pivotal commercial ties between the world’s two largest economies.