Oil futures closed near stability this Friday (17) as investors maintain expectations for a meeting between presidents Donald Trump (USA) and Vladimir Putin (Russia) in the coming weeks to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine.
The market for commodity also follows news of tensions between the US and China, after the Republican cooled concerns about tariffs against the Asian power.
O WTI oil for December, traded Nymex (New York Mercantile Exchange), closed up 0.28% (US$0.16), at US$57.15 per barrel. Already the Brent for Decembertraded on ICE (London Intercontinental Exchange), advanced 0.38% (US$0.23), to US$61.29 per barrel.
During the week, the losses were 2.97% and 2.3%, respectively.
On the sidelines of the meeting with Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelensky, Trump signaled that Putin wants to end the war in Eastern Europe and stated that the meeting with the Russian leader “will be twofold”.
“Yesterday’s call with Putin was good; things are going very well towards the end of the war,” he added, in comments to journalists. Hopes of détente between Russia and Ukraine tend to put downward pressure on oil prices.
For brokerage Naga, an upcoming meeting between Trump and Putin generates speculation about the possibility of easing sanctions on Moscow, which could further increase global oil supply.
According to ANZ Research, the announcement alleviates concerns about tight supplies, which also contribute to the drop in oil prices.
Also this Friday, Trump said in an interview with Fox Business that the high tariffs imposed on China will not be maintained and reiterated that everything “will be fine” between the world’s two main economic powers. During the afternoon, the Republican planned a meeting with his Chinese counterpart in South Korea at the end of this month.
*With information from Dow Jones Newswires
