Oil ticks down on reports of US-Russia deal

HOUSTON: Oil prices edged lower on Friday and were poised for the steepest weekly losses since late June on reports of a deal between U.S. and Russia, and a tariff-hit economic outlook.

Brent crude futures were down 7 cents at $66.36 a barrel by 11:18 a.m ET (1518 GMT). U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures eased 21 cents, or 0.3%, to $63.67.

Brent was on track to fall 4.8% over the week, while WTI was set to finish 5.5% lower than last Friday’s close.

Washington and Moscow are aiming to reach a deal to halt the war in Ukraine that would lock in Russia’s occupation of territory seized during its military invasion, Bloomberg News reported on Friday.

U.S. and Russian officials are working towards an agreement on territories for a planned summit meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin as early as next week, the report said, citing people familiar with the matter.

The potential meeting raises expectations of a diplomatic end to the war in Ukraine, which could lead to eased sanctions on Russia, and come as trade tensions have been on the rise between Trump and buyers of Russian oil.

This week, Trump threatened to increase tariffs on India if it kept buying Russian oil. Trump also said China, the largest buyer of Russian crude, could be hit with tariffs similar to those levied against Indian imports.

Meanwhile, higher U.S. tariffs on imports from a host of trade partners went into effect on Thursday, raising concern over economic activity and demand for crude oil, ANZ Bank analysts said in a note.

“Various non-oil considerations are at play, including fears over the impact of tariffs and the headlines flying over the last few days regarding a Trump and Putin meeting in the near term,” said Neil Crosby, an energy market analyst at Sparta Commodities.

“Headline risk is particularly strong currently with flip-flopping regarding who will turn up to a meeting over Ukraine and under what circumstances.”

Trump on Thursday also said he will nominate Council of Economic Advisers Chairman Stephen Miran to serve out the final few months of a newly vacant seat at the Federal Reserve, fuelling expectations of a more dovish policy ahead.

Lower interest rates reduce consumer borrowing costs and can boost economic growth and demand for oil.

The dollar firmed on Friday but headed for a weekly fall. A stronger dollar hurts demand for dollar-denominated crude from foreign buyers.