Oil falls as potential Ukraine peace deal may ease supply disruptions
Oil prices fell about 1% on Thursday on expectations that a potential peace deal between Ukraine and Russia would end sanctions that have disrupted supply flows, while crude inventories rose in top producer the United States.
Brent futures were down 81 cents, or 1.1%, at $74.37 a barrel by 0735 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude dropped 81 cents, or 1.1%, to $70.56.
Brent and WTI fell more than 2% on Wednesday after U.S. President Donald Trump said Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy expressed a desire for peace in separate phone calls with him, and Trump ordered top U.S. officials to begin talks on ending the war in Ukraine.
Russia is the world's third-largest oil producer and sanctions imposed on its crude exports as a result of its invasion of Ukraine nearly three years ago have supported higher prices.
In a note on Thursday, ANZ analysts said oil prices declined on news of the potential peace talks because of "optimism that risks to crude oil supplies would ease", pointing to the U.S. and E.U. sanctions that are pushing down Russia's output.
Source: Reuters