Oil steadies as investors await peace talk direction

LONDON: Oil prices steadied on Thursday as market participants weighed talks to end the war in Ukraine against the impact of Western sanctions against Russian supply, though trading was set to remain thin due to the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday.

Brent crude futures rose 9 cents or 0.1% to stand at $63.22 a barrel as of 1102 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures gained 19 cents or 0.3% to $58.84 a barrel.

U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff is set to travel to Moscow next week with other senior U.S. officials for talks with Russian leaders on a possible plan to end the nearly four-year-old war in Ukraine, the deadliest in Europe since World War Two.

Still, Russia will make no big concessions on a peace plan, a senior Russian diplomat said on Wednesday, after a leaked recording of a call involving Witkoff showed he had advised Moscow on how to pitch to U.S. President Donald Trump.

“Geopolitical volatility continues and hopes of a potential ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine have neutralized the supply concerns arising from new US sanctions on key Russian producers,” Barclays said in a note.

Meanwhile, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies are likely to leave output levels unchanged at a meeting on Sunday, three OPEC+ sources told Reuters on Tuesday. Some members of the group, which pumps about half the world’s oil, have been raising production since April to gain market share.

Limiting crude price declines were rising expectations for a U.S. Federal Reserve interest rate cut in December. A lower rate typically stimulates economic growth and bolsters demand for oil.

“We are now approaching the year-end with thinner liquidity without any new drivers unless the Fed surprises the markets with a hawkish guidance on the 10 December FOMC meeting,” said OANDA senior market analyst Kelvin Wong.

“WTI crude is likely to be range-bound between US$56.80 and US$60.40 till year-end,” he added.