Oil Prices Decline as Russia-Ukraine Peace Talks Progress
Crude oil futures fell on Monday, with Brent crude โฃfutures down 14 cents, or 0.22%, โขto $62.42 per barrel at 0148 GMT, and West Texas Intermediate down 15 cents, or 0.26%, at $57.91 a barrel. Both benchmarks experienced a roughly 3% decline last week, reaching their lowest settlements since October 21,โ amid concernsโ that a potential russia-Ukraine peace agreement could lead to the lifting of sanctions on Moscow and anโ increase in oil โsupply.
The price dropโ wasโข largely attributed to a push โขfor a peace deal โขled by U.S. President โคDonald Trump,โ according to IG analyst Tony Sycamore, who noted markets view this as a “fast trackโ to unlocking considerable โrussian supply.” Sycamore added that progress toward a peace deal outweighed the impact of recent U.S. sanctions on โRosneft andโค Lukoil, which have left approximately 48โ million barrels of Russian crudeโ stranded at sea.
talks between theโ U.S. and โขUkraine on Sunday reportedly yielded progress on a peace plan that could involve Ukraineโค ceding territory โฃand foregoingโฃ plans to join NATO. Trump has set a deadline โfor a deal of this Thursday, though european leaders are advocating for more favorable terms. โA finalized agreement could result in โคthe rollback of sanctions impacting โRussian oil exports.โฃ
In 2024, Russia was the โworld’s second-largest crudeโ oil producer, following the U.S.,as per the U.S. Energy Information Governance.
Adding to downward pressureโ on โคoil prices, uncertainty surrounding potential U.S. interest rate โคcuts alsoโ dampened investor enthusiasm. However, the possibility of a rate cut in the nearโ term increased after New York Federal Reserve President John Williams indicated a cut “in the near term.”
The U.S. dollar, headed for its largest โคweekly increase inโค six weeks and reaching its highest levelโ since late May,โข further contributed to theโข decline โขin oil prices, โฃas a stronger dollar makes oil more โฃexpensive for buyers using other currencies.