Oil prices extend gains

Oil prices extended gains on Wednesday after Moscow said peace talks with Ukraine had reached a dead end, feeding worries about tight supplies even after US crude stocks rose by more than 9 million barrels. Brent crude was up $1.94, or 1.9%, to $106.58 a barrel by 11:03 AM (1508 GMT) US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures gained $1.57, or 1.6%, to $102.17. The previous session, both benchmarks climbed more than 6%. On Tuesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday said Ukraine derailed peace talks and said Moscow would continue what it calls a “special military operation” to disarm its neighbour. US President Joe Biden accused Russia of genocide. The developments reinforced the view “the Ukraine-Russia situation will not be de-escalating any time soon,” said OANDA senior market analyst Jeffrey Halley. “The downside for oil prices is limited.” 

Published in The Express Tribune, April 14^th, 2022.

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