Oil Prices Fall Further as Trump Flags Russia Talks to End Ukraine War
Oil prices continued to fall after U.S. President Donald Trump and his counterpart Vladimir Putin agreed to talks to end the war in Ukraine, raising speculation that risks to Russian supplies could be easing.
Brent fell below $75 a barrel after dropping 2.4% on Wednesday, its biggest drop in more than two months, while West Texas Intermediate neared $71. Trump said negotiations would begin soon, and that he might meet Putin in Saudi Arabia “very soon,” according to a social media post.
“I’m much more skeptical that negotiations will happen sooner rather than later,” said Wayne Gordon, regional chief investment officer at UBS Group AG in Singapore. “It’s too early to predict anything.”
U.S. sanctions on Moscow’s oil sector have disrupted the flow of Russian crude, which helped support a rally in global benchmark oil prices earlier this year. But the market has been dragged down by Trump’s tariff attacks, which have weighed on sentiment and prices over the past three weeks. The president’s trade policies risk creating volatility in global stock markets, potentially creating supply-demand imbalances that do not reflect fundamentals, OPEC said in its monthly report on Wednesday.
The release also showed that some members are better implementing supply curbs. The International Energy Agency is scheduled to provide a brief overview of the market later Thursday, including the outlook for supply and demand.
Brent for April settlement fell 0.9% to $74.52 a barrel as of 10:15 a.m. in Singapore. WTI for March delivery fell 0.9% to $70.72 a barrel.
Source: Bloomberg
