Oil Prices Steady as Hopes for Russia-Ukraine Peace Recede

PUKMEDIA

Oil prices.

Oil prices held largely steady on Friday as fading hopes for an imminent peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine heightened the risk premium demanded by oil sellers, setting prices on course to break a two-week losing streak.

According to Reuters, Brent crude futures slipped by 12 cents to $67.55 a barrel as of 04:15 GMT, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures fell 10 cents to $63.42.

Both benchmarks had risen by more than 1% in the previous session. Brent has gained 2.7% this week, while WTI is up 1.1%.

Traders are factoring in greater risk as expectations diminish that U.S. President Donald Trump can swiftly broker a settlement to end the conflict, which has fuelled a sell-off in oil over the past fortnight. The three-and-a-half-year war continued on Thursday as Russia launched an air strike near Ukraine’s border with the European Union, while Kyiv announced it had struck a Russian oil refinery.

Meanwhile, U.S. and European security advisers said they have been preparing military options. This followed the first face-to-face meeting last weekend between U.S. and Russian leaders since the invasion, which has thus far produced little progress towards peace.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has demanded that Ukraine relinquish the entire Donbas region, abandon its NATO ambitions and exclude Western troops from its territory, sources told Reuters.

President Trump, however, pledged that any deal must guarantee Ukraine’s security. President Volodymyr Zelensky rejected any suggestion of withdrawing from internationally recognised Ukrainian land.

Oil prices also drew support from a larger-than-expected fall in U.S. crude inventories last week, pointing to strong demand. Stockpiles declined by 6 million barrels in the week ending 15 August, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, compared with analyst forecasts of a 1.8 million-barrel reduction.



PUKMEDIA