Oil prices fell on Thursday after touching a weekly high near $73 a barrel as markets watched an unexpected geopolitical development regarding peace talks between Russia and Ukraine.
Brent Oil Futures fell 0.3% to $75.83 a barrel on while WTI Crude Oil Futures fell 0.4% to $71.82 a barrel.
On the geopolitical front, high-level talks have begun between US and Russian officials in Saudi Arabia aimed at negotiating an end to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.
However, the talks were held without the participation of Ukrainian representatives. This has raised serious doubts about the seemingly ‘one-sided’ talks.
If a peace deal succeeds, it would lead to the lifting of sanctions on Russian oil exports, thus increasing global oil supplies and opening up room for price volatility.
Meanwhile, the American Petroleum Institute (API) reported a 3.34 million barrel increase in US crude oil inventories for the week ended February 14, beating analysts' expectations of a 2.2 million barrel increase.
Market participants will be closely monitoring the upcoming US Energy Information Administration (EIA) report for further information on the latest trends.
