Oil prices hovered near two-week highs on Monday, December 8, as investors expect the U.S. Federal Reserve to cut interest rates this week while keeping an eye on geopolitical risks threatening supplies from russia and Venezuela.
This was reported by Ekonomichna Pravda with reference to Reuters.
Brent crude futures rose 14 cents, or 0.22%, to USD 63.89 a barrel by 07:22 GMT, while West Texas Intermediate crude rose 15 cents, or 0.25%, to USD 60.23.
Both contracts closed Friday's trading session at their highest level since November 18.
Markets are pricing in an 84% chance of a quarter-point rate cut at the Fed's meeting on Tuesday and Wednesday, according to LSEG.
However, comments from board members suggest the meeting is likely to be one of the most contentious in years, increasing investor scrutiny of the bank's policy direction and domestic dynamics.
In Europe, progress in peace talks on Ukraine remains slow, with disputes over security guarantees for Kyiv and the status of russian-occupied territories still unresolved.
US and russian officials also have differing views on the peace proposal put forward by the administration of US President Donald Trump.
"The various potential outcomes of Trump's latest efforts to end the war could cause oil supply to fluctuate by more than 2 million barrels per day," ANZ analysts said in a note to clients.
Commonwealth Bank of Australia analyst Vivek Dhar said the ceasefire is the main risk to the oil price outlook, while the long-term damage to russian oil infrastructure is a significant upside risk.
"We believe that concerns about oversupply will ultimately be justified, especially given that russian oil and petroleum products will eventually circumvent existing sanctions, pushing futures gradually closer to USD 60 per barrel by 2026," Dhar said in a note to clients.
As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, oil prices rose on Monday, December 1, after the Caspian Pipeline Consortium in russia's largest port of Novorossiysk halted exports due to a major Ukrainian drone attack, and tensions between the United States and Venezuela heightened supply concerns.
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