Oil slides as US pushes for Russia-Ukraine peace deal
Oil prices fell on Thursday as the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump pushed for Ukraine's acceptance of a peace agreement with Russia to end a war that has gone on for more than three years.
Brent crude futures settled at $63.38 a barrel, down 13 cents, or 0.2%. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures finished at $59.14 a barrel, down 30 cents, or 0.5%.
Both benchmarks rose earlier in Thursday's session on a larger-than-expected draw on U.S. crude supplies, reported on Wednesday by the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
The U.S.-Russia peace proposal includes concessions of Ukrainian territory to Russia and reductions in Ukraine's armed forces, both of which Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has previously rejected.
On Thursday, Zelenskiy said he would look over the proposal and confer with the United States about the peace plan.
U.S. sanctions on trading with Russian oil companies Rosneft (ROSN.MM), and Lukoil (LKOH.MM) come into effect on Friday, while Lukoil has until December 13 to sell its sprawling international portfolio.
The bigger-than-expected draw in U.S. crude stockpiles reflected increased refining in response to strong margins and export demand for U.S. crude.
Crude inventories fell by 3.4 million barrels to 424.2 million in the week ended November 14, the Energy Information Administration said, against a draw of 603,000 barrels projected by analysts in a Reuters poll.
That said, analysts also noted that U.S. gasoline and distillate stockpiles increased for the first time in more than a month, suggesting slowing consumption.
Source : Reuters.com
