Oil prices lost early gains on Tuesday, returning near their previous close amid uncertainty about how supply will be impacted by Ukraine-Russia peace talks, international trade tariffs, and OPEC+ crude output.
Brent crude futures were down 4 cents at $75.18 per barrel by 1406 GMT, after earlier rising to $76.07. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures increased 43 cents from Friday’s close to $71.17 a barrel, with no settlement for WTI on Monday due to the U.S. Presidents’ Day holiday.
U.S. and Russian officials held over four hours of talks in Riyadh on Tuesday, their first discussions aimed at ending the war in Ukraine. Moscow made a new demand that NATO cancel its 2008 promise regarding Ukraine’s membership.
Ukraine was not present at the talks and has stated that no peace deals can be made without its involvement.
Should a peace deal be reached, sanctions limiting the supply of Russian oil could be lifted, which may affect global oil markets. On the other hand, oil prices were supported by a Ukrainian drone attack on a Russian pipeline that transports about 1% of global crude supply.
The damage could reduce oil transit volumes from Kazakhstan by around 30%, with repairs taking up to two months, according to Russian oil transport company Transneft.
Ongoing uncertainty also surrounds the potential delay of monthly oil supply increases scheduled for April. Russian state media reported that OPEC+ members were not considering postponing these increases, despite earlier reports suggesting that the group might explore such an option.
