2025-12-16T05:35:35+00:00

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Shafaq News

Oil prices fell on Tuesday, adding to the previous session’s
losses, as prospects for a Russia-Ukraine peace deal appeared to strengthen, raising
expectations of a potential easing of sanctions.

Brent crude futures fell 35 cents, or 0.6%, to $60.21 a
barrel by 0350 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was trading at
$56.52 a barrel, down 30 cents, or 0.5%.

“Crude oil fell as the market weighed up signs of
optimism on a peace deal being reached between Russia and Ukraine,” ANZ
analysts said in a note.

“This raised concerns that recent U.S. sanctions on
Russian oil companies would be ultimately lifted, adding to an already well
supplied market.”

The U.S. offered to provide NATO-style security guarantees
for Kyiv and European negotiators reported progress in talks on Monday to end
Russia’s war in Ukraine, an unprecedented step that sparked optimism that talks
were drawing closer to negotiating an end to the conflict. However, a deal on
territorial concessions remained elusive.

Adding to the pressure, soft Chinese economic data released
on Monday further fuelled concerns that global demand may not be strong enough
to absorb recent supply growth, said IG market analyst Tony Sycamore in a note.

China’s factory output growth slowed to a 15-month low,
official data showed. Retail sales also grew at their slowest pace since
December 2022, during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The data raised concerns that China’s strategy of relying on
exports to offset weak domestic demand may be faltering. A cooling economy
would further pressure demand in the world’s largest buyer of oil, where the
surging use of electric vehicles is already weighing on petroleum consumption.

Those factors offset concerns about supply after the U.S.
seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela last week.

Traders and analysts said a glut of floating storage and a
surge in Chinese buying from Venezuela in anticipation of sanctions are also
limiting the market impact of the move.

(Reuters)

Only the headline is edited by Shafaq News.