Oil prices set to end losing streak as Ukraine peace process stalls.
Oil prices were stable on Friday as hopes for an imminent peace deal between Russia and Ukraine dimmed, putting prices on track for their first weekly gain in three weeks.
Brent crude futures LCOc1 were up 8 cents, or 0.1%, at US$67.75 a barrel by 0815 GMT. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures CLc1 rose 12 cents, or 0.2%, to US$63.64.
Both contracts gained more than 1% in the previous session. Brent has risen 2.8% so far this week while WTI is up 1.4%.
The three-and-a-half-year war continued unabated this week as Russia launched an air attack near Ukraine’s border with the European Union on Thursday and Ukraine said it hit a Russian oil refinery and the Unecha oil pumping station, a critical part of Russia’s Europe-bound Druzhba oil pipeline. Hungary said deliveries through the pipeline had been halted.
Trump is seeking to arrange a summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskiy as part of efforts to broker a peace deal for Ukraine.
Oil prices were also supported by a larger than expected drawdown from US crude stockpiles in the past week, indicating strong demand. Stocks fell by 6 million barrels in the week ended August 15, the US Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday. Analysts had expected a draw of 1.8 million barrels.
Weak economic data from Germany on Friday partially offset the stocks draw, showing that Europe’s largest economy shrank by 0.3% in the second quarter, raising concerns over oil demand.
Source: theedgemalaysia