Oil prices steady as investors weigh progress on Russia-Ukraine talks against falling US oil stocks

Business Recorder reported that oil benchmarks ended mixed on Wednesday, with Brent up 0.2% at $109.04 a barrel and US West Texas Intermediate down 0.1% at $97.72. Both contracts had climbed by up to $2 earlier, while Brent remained close to a five-month high. Traders were assessing the possibility of renewed Russia-Ukraine negotiations alongside US inventory figures and the absence of US-Iran talks.

The Kremlin said Vladimir Putin had accepted a proposal to restart US-facilitated discussions with Ukraine next month. Meanwhile, the US Energy Information Administration reported a 3.06-million-barrel decline in crude inventories to 412.5 million barrels, larger than analysts’ expected 820,000-barrel reduction. Distillate supplies moved in the opposite direction, rising 1.68 million barrels to 104.3 million, despite expectations for a 1.16-million-barrel fall. Ongoing attacks on vessels and risks to Gulf oil movements also remained part of the market picture.