Oil climbs despite peace negotiations
Oil prices go higher Wednesday despite progress in peace negotiations between Ukraine and Russia. However, oil is still in tight supply.
A barrel of European benchmark crude Brent costs USD 111.12 Wednesday morning against USD 109.34 Tuesday afternoon. US counterpart West Texas Intermediate trades concurrently at USD 104.95 against 102.84 Tuesday afternoon.
On Tuesday, representatives of Ukraine and Russia once again met to negotiate a peace treaty. During the negotiations, Russia has vowed to de-escalate its military presence, while Ukraine seeks to be a neutral state.
The slight advances during the negotiations have inspired hope of an end to the war before long, which sent prices down by two percent in the short run.
However, the price drop didn’t last long before figures from the American Petroleum Institute elucidated the huge oil supply crisis. API reported that US crude stocks fell by 3 million barrels last week, which is a significantly bigger drop than most analysts had expected.
The increases in oil prices are further spurred by two important members of the Organization for Petroleum Exporting Countries, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, refusing to ramp up oil production. They contend that OPEC should not get involved in politics.
At a conference held Tuesday in Dubai , United Arab Emirates Minister of Energy Subhail al Mazruei called for moderation and described OPEC as an organization of ”experts in our field.”
”We’re trying to balance the market and it’s not an easy job. We’re not the only oil producers in the world, and when we say this is the right way to do it, we know it from experience. So, trust us,” said al Mazruei.
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