Oil Prices Under Pressure from Russia-Ukraine Peace
World crude oil prices have recently been under quite strong pressure after previously experiencing a good increase along with increasing demand for heating oil due to extreme winter in northern countries.
OPEC+ at the end of 2024 announced a decrease in the projection of global oil demand along with the worsening economy of China, which is one of the largest oil consumers in the world. Immediate preventive measures were taken, OPEC+ continued their production cuts until early 2025.
The election of Donald Trump as president also put additional pressure on oil prices. Unlike Biden who continues to try to reduce production to balance oil prices, Trump wants all US oil storage tanks to be filled to capacity, resulting in a flood of oil stocks on the market.
In the near future, we may see oil prices experience a significant decline after news that Trump is working on peace between Russia and Ukraine, which could possibly make Russia return to action in the world oil market after previously receiving sanctions on their oil exports.
In the short term, oil is predicted to still experience a decline due to sluggish demand and Trump's tariff stock that is detrimental to sentiment. Currently, international benchmark Brent oil is still trading around $75 per barrel, while WTI is trading around $71 per barrel.
Source : (mrv@Newsmaker)
