Crude oil prices dipped on Thursday amid growing expectations of a potential peace agreement for Ukraine. The drop followed comments from former U.S. President Donald Trump, who revealed that both Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had expressed interest in negotiating a peace deal.
As of the latest reports, Brent crude was priced at $74.55 per barrel, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) traded at $70.79 per barrel. This decline came after another drop on Wednesday, triggered by the U.S. Energy Information Administration‘s report of a 4.1 million-barrel inventory increase for the week ending February 7.
Trump, speaking after a more-than-hour-long conversation with Putin, said, “He wants it to end. He doesn’t want to end it and then go back to fighting six months later.” He added, “I think we’re on the way to getting peace. I think President Putin wants peace, President Zelenskyy wants peace, and I want peace. I just want to see people stop getting killed,” as reported by Reuters.
Meanwhile, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth stated on Wednesday that Ukraine should abandon hopes of returning to its pre-2014 borders, calling it “unrealistic.” He also emphasized that NATO membership for Ukraine was not an option, explaining, “We want, like you, a sovereign and prosperous Ukraine. But we must start by recognizing that returning to Ukraine’s pre-2014 borders is an unrealistic objective. Chasing this illusionary goal will only prolong the war and cause more suffering.”
If a peace deal is reached, it could lead to the lifting of U.S. sanctions on Russia’s energy sector, potentially increasing the global supply of Russian crude and putting downward pressure on oil prices. However, tight global oil supplies have supported prices, with energy analyst John Kemp noting that OECD inventories have dropped to their lowest level since 2022. This has created a price floor, although the prospect of peace in Ukraine could lower that floor even further.
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