Oil prices fell slightly during the first Asian exchanges on Tuesday, market players assessing the prospect of tripartite discussions planned between Russia, Ukraine and the United States aimed at ending the war in Ukraine. A favorable outcome could lead to the lifting of sanctions on Russian crude.
The term contracts on the Brent lost 7 cents, or 0.11 %, at $ 66.53 per barrel at 00:00 GMT. The term contracts on the American crude West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for delivery in September, which expire on Wednesday, fell by 6 cents, or 0.09 %, to $ 63.36 per barrel.
The WTI more active contract for October decreased by 9 cents, or 0.14 %, to $ 62.61 per barrel.
The prices had finished the previous session up approximately 1 %.
Following discussions with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and a group of European allies in the White House on Monday, US President Donald Trump said on social networks that he called his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin and began to organize a meeting between Putin and Zelensky, followed by a trilateral summit between the three heads of state.
“A scenario that would see a de -escalation of tensions and the disappearance of the threat of secondary prices or sanctions would lead to a decrease in oil to our average objective of $ 58 a barrel for the fourth quarter 2025/First quarter 2026,” said Bart Melek, head of raw materials at TD Securities, in a note.
Zelensky described his direct discussions with Trump “very good” and said that the two men had mentioned the need for Ukraine to obtain American security guarantees.
Trump has pleaded for a rapid end to the deadliest war in Europe for 80 years, but Kyiv and his allies fear that he will seek to impose an agreement on the conditions of Russia.
“A result that would see the United States exerting increased pressure on Russia via wider secondary prices against Russian oil customers (as is currently the case for India) would undoubtedly propel crude to the summits observed a few weeks ago,” added Melek.
(Report of Anjana Anil in Bangalore; edited by Sonali Paul)