Oil Remains Wedged Between Ukraine Peace Issues and Oversupply
Oil prices have held onto gains over the past two days amid market focus on ceasefire talks in Ukraine and concerns about a global oversupply. Brent is trading above $63 per barrel, while WTI is hovering near $60 per barrel. Ukrainian negotiators are preparing for a new round of talks in Florida, but Russian President Vladimir Putin has said several points in the US-backed peace plan are still unacceptable.
On the other hand, the market is concerned that supply will become more abundant if sanctions on Russia are eased, increasing its oil exports. This pressure is compounded by Saudi Aramco lowering its Arab Light price for January delivery to its lowest level since 2021, and Canadian oil prices have also fallen. Several analysts believe the bearish oil trend has the potential to continue because the market is fundamentally oversupplied, while the Ukraine issue and US rhetoric against Venezuela are considered more market noise.
Market participants are also monitoring President Putin's visit to India for energy cooperation talks, which could potentially strengthen Russia-India relations and trigger new tensions with the US. As of around 9:30 a.m. Singapore time, Brent crude for February was trading around $63.28, while WTI crude for January was stable at $59.65 per barrel.
Source: Newsmaker.id
