Oil steadies on potential Trump-Putin meeting in coming days

LONDON:Oil prices steadied on Thursday, paring early gains after the Kremlin announced that Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet US President Donald Trump in the coming days, raising expectations for a diplomatic end to the war in Ukraine.
Brent crude futures were up 21 cents, or 0.3%, at $67.10 a barrel by 0902 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude gained 20 cents, or 0.3%, to $64.55.
Both benchmarks fell about 1% on Wednesday, hitting eight-week lows after Trump commented on progress in talks with Moscow.
Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said Thursday’s announcement marks the first summit between the two leaders since 2021. A White House official had previously said Trump could meet Putin as soon as next week. However, the US is continuing preparations to impose secondary sanctions, potentially targeting China, to pressure Moscow to end the conflict.
“Oil is modestly up, benefiting from a crude draw in the US, higher Saudi prices for Asia, and solid Chinese crude imports in July,” said UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo, adding that news of a potential Trump-Putin meeting limited further gains.
The Energy Information Administration reported on Wednesday that US crude inventories fell by 3 million barrels to 423.7 million barrels in the week ending August 1, exceeding analyst expectations of a 591,000-barrel decline.
China’s crude oil imports in July dipped 5.4% from June but were still up 11.5% year-on-year. Analysts expect refining activity to remain strong in the near term.
Saudi Arabia, the world’s top oil exporter, raised its September crude prices for Asian buyers on Wednesday for a second consecutive month, citing tight supply and robust demand.
However, global macroeconomic uncertainty continued to cap gains. Trump imposed an additional 25% tariff on Indian goods on Wednesday, citing India’s continued imports of Russian oil. The new tariffs take effect August 28. Trump also suggested further tariffs on China could follow.— Reuters