Oil prices edged lower in early Asian trading on Monday after the United States held off on ratcheting up sanctions targeting Russia’s crucial energy sector. The move came after Friday’s summit between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, where the two leaders prioritized talks on brokering a peace agreement to end the Ukraine conflict over immediate punitive measures.
Crude oil fell about 0.50% in early trading hours, but later pared some losses as the session progressed. As of 9:00 local time in Thailand, international benchmark Brent crude slipped 0.14% retreating $0.09 to $65.76 per barrel. Meanwhile, US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were down $0.01 or 0.02% to $62.79 a barrel.
Trump said on Friday that he was in no rush to impose secondary tariffs on countries that purchase oil from Russia, primarily China, the world’s largest oil consumer. However, he did not mention if the tariffs he put on India due to the same reason would be retracted.
In an unexpected diplomatic development, Russian President Vladimir Putin has reportedly agreed to a proposal that would allow the United States and European allies to extend NATO-style security assurances to Ukraine as part of efforts to halt the ongoing conflict, according to U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff.
NATO’s Article 5 collective defense clause underpins the alliance’s mutual protection pledge, dictating that an armed attack against one member is treated as an attack against all. The proposed security guarantees for Ukraine are said to mirror these principles, though the specifics of enforcement remain to be clarified, and this grant does not put Ukraine in NATO’s membership.
Trump is expected to meet President Zelenskyy and leaders from across Europe on Monday to pursue what aides describe as an expedited peace agreement aimed at drawing to a close the bloodiest conflict Europe has seen in generations.
