Oil prices climbed Wednesday after Moscow and US envoys ended their talks in Moscow without reaching agreement on a potential peace deal related to the Ukraine war — a development markets had hoped might ease sanctions on Russian energy.
By 1010 GMT, Brent crude was up 78 cents, or 1.3%, at $63.23 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate rose 85 cents, or 1.5%, to $59.49. Both benchmarks had dropped more than 1% in the previous session.
Analysts say the bounce reflects renewed caution as markets confront the prospect that sanctions on Russian oil will remain in place — at least in the near term. “Oil markets and prediction markets do not appear to price a large probability of a near-term peace agreement and removal of the sanctions on Russian oil,” commented analysts at Goldman Sachs in a note cited by market watchers.
The failed negotiations follow a five-hour meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. envoys earlier this week, which Moscow said yielded no compromise.
Still, underlying supply pressures also played a role. Markets remain alert to recent attacks by Ukraine on Russian oil export facilities along the Black Sea coast — which have spotlighted continuing geopolitical risks tied to global energy flows.
That said, rising US inventories have put a cap on prices. Data from oil market sources suggested that, in the week ending November 28, U.S. crude stocks increased by 2.48 million barrels, gasoline inventories by 3.14 million barrels, and distillate inventories by 2.88 million barrels — a build-up that tempered some of the upside in global prices.
Market participants now await official confirmation from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA), expected later today.
