Crude Oil Advances As Breakthrough Elusive In Russia-Ukraine Peace Talks

(RTTNews) - Crude oil rose on Wednesday as U.S. proposed Russia-Ukraine peace talks failed to deliver a breakthrough.

WTI Crude Oil for January delivery was last seen trading up by $0.23 (or 0.39%) at $58.87 per barrel.

U.S. President Donald Trump imposed sanctions on Russian oil exports that kicked in beginning in late November.

Simultaneously, Trump administration also initiated efforts to end the Russia-Ukraine war through diplomacy.

Last Sunday, high-level officials from the U.S. met with their Ukrainian counterparts to discuss the new 10-point U.S. draft plan. The meeting was "optimistic," according to the U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

Yesterday, a meeting between U.S. envoy Steven Witkoff and Russian President Vladimir Putin took place. Notably, Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner accompanied Witkoff.

After the meeting, Russian officials called the talks "constructive" though they added that "no compromise" was reached on the status of territories captured by Russia in Ukraine.

Oil markets wished for a speedy end to the conflict as it could free up the restrictions on Russian oil flow. As the standoff continues, oil prices gained on the upside.

Putin also blamed the "European powers" that are friendly to Ukraine for putting forward unacceptable terms and hindering attempts by the U.S. to end the conflict.

Last Saturday, Ukraine conducted drone attacks on two sanctioned tankers in the Black Sea heading to Russian port.

Yesterday, a Russia-flagged tanker suffered a drone attack off the Turkish coast. Though Ukraine did not claim responsibility, Russia has vowed strong retaliation, raising supply side concerns.

Ukraine has caused disruption to oil shipments earlier in Novorossiysk.

After accusing Venezuela of promoting narco-trafficking and human trafficking that seeps into the U.S., Trump declared that Venezuelan airspace had been closed.

The U.S. has accelerated a large-scale military buildup around Venezuela, including fighter jets, gunships, and surveillance aircrafts.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro accused Trump of eyeing the rich oil wealth available in Venezuela, which is more than five times that of the U.S. reserves.

On the inventory front, according to the American Petroleum Institute, U.S. crude oil inventories decreased by 2.48 million barrels for the week ending November 28, marking the second straight weekly decline.

According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, crude oil inventories in the U.S. increased by 0.57 million barrels for the week ending November 28.

For the same period, gasoline inventories jumped by 4,518,000 barrels and distillate inventories rose to 2,059,000 barrels. However, heating oil inventories dropped by 293,000 barrels.

Recent economic releases in the U.S. pointing to a weak labor market along with dovish comments by several Federal Reserve officials have increased rate cut expectations among investors.

Reports that Kevin Hassett, an economic advisor to the president, would be the successor to Fed Chair Jerome Powell has further fueled anticipation of monetary easing as Hassett is a known proponent of a low-interest regime.

The U.S. dollar index was last seen trading at 98.83, down by 0.52% today.