Advertisement
Oil Futures Settle Lower As Supply Concerns Ease
(RTTNews) - Oil prices drifted lower on Friday as supply concerns eased amid hopes of a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine and possibility of removal of sanctions on Russia.
Traders are pinning hopes of an end to the Russia-Ukraine war after U.S. President Donald Trump spoke to presidents of Russia and Ukraine over phone.
There are expectations that a potential peace deal between Ukraine and Russia would usher in the end of sanctions affecting supply flows.
West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures settled lower by $0.55 or 0.77% at $70.74 a barrel. WTI futures gained 1% this week.
Brent crude futures settled at $74.70 a barrel, losing about 0.4%. Brent crude futures gained about 1% this week.
Oil prices found some support amid optimism over potential trade agreements between the U.S. and some major trading partners following delays in U.S. reciprocal tariffs.
Trump has signed a Presidential memo on reciprocal tariffs for more balanced trade, with Howard Lutnick, Trump's Commerce Secretary nominee, saying he anticipates the investigation will be complete by April 1.
A report from Baker Hughes said the oil and gas rig count in the U.S. rose by 2 to 588 this week. Despite this week's rig increase, the total count was still down 33 rigs, or 5% below this time last year.
Baker Hughes said oil rigs rose by one to 481 this week, while gas rigs gained one to 101.
Positive Start Seen For Canadian Stocks
UK Market Roughly Flat; Mining Stocks Move Higher
CAC 40 Climbs Higher For 3rd Straight Day
Sensex Plunges 765 Points On Tariff Worries; Nifty Ends Below 24,400
DAX Modestly Lower After Four-day Winning Streak
European Shares Mixed As Investors Weigh Trump Tariff Impact
Asian Shares Mostly Lower In Cautious Trade; Nikkei Bucks Trend
