Crude oil futures drop as US-Ukraine talks may impact Russian oil supply, impacting Brent and WTI prices.
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REUTERS
Crude oil futures traded lower on Tuesday morning amid expectations that the US-Ukraine talks could improve the outlook for Russian crude oil supply.
At 10.03 am on Tuesday, October Brent oil futures were at $66.17, down by 0.65 per cent, and October crude oil futures on WTI (West Texas Intermediate) were at $62.25, down by 0.72 per cent. August crude oil futures were trading at ₹5499 on Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) during the initial hour of trading on Tuesday against the previous close of ₹5544, down by 0.81 per cent, and September futures were trading at ₹5455 against the previous close of ₹5492, down by 0.67 per cent.
In an effort to bring an end to Russia-Ukraine conflict, US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met in Washington on Monday. This meeting followed the recent meeting of the Presidents of Russia and US in Alaska.
In a post on the social media platform Truth Social, Trump said he held a meeting with several world leaders at the Oval Office on Monday.
“During the meeting we discussed Security Guarantees for Ukraine, which Guarantees would be provided by the various European Countries, with a coordination with the United States of America. Everyone is very happy about the possibility of PEACE for Russia/Ukraine. At the conclusion of the meetings, I called President Putin, and began the arrangements for a meeting, at a location to be determined, between President Putin and President Zelenskyy. After that meeting takes place, we will have a Trilat, which would be the two Presidents, plus myself. Again, this was a very good, early step for a War that has been going on for almost four years. Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, are coordinating with Russia and Ukraine,” he said in the post.
In their Commodities Feed for Tuesday, Warren Patterson, Head of Commodities Strategy of ING Think, and Ewa Manthey, Commodities Strategist, said oil prices were lower in early morning trading on Tuesday, following the meeting between Presidents Trump and Zelensky.
The Ukrainian leader appears to have pushed for more clarity around US security guarantees and reportedly is willing to offer a $100 billion weapons deal in return for such guarantees.
Stating that there was no critical breakthrough, they said it appears the next step is a meeting between Zelensky and Putin, possibly within two weeks. This will be crucial, marking the first time the leaders meet since the war started. A big sticking point relates to territory. Putin wants Ukraine to concede Donetsk and Luhansk in their entirety — even parts of those regions not currently under Russian occupation. Zelensky has made it clear this isn’t something he would accept.
“We’ll have to wait until such a meeting to know how much flexibility there is on both the Russian and Ukrainian sides,” they said.
The other big issue relating to Russia-Ukraine is the secondary tariffs the US placed on India for its imports of Russian oil. The deadline (August 27) to come to a deal before tariffs are introduced is nearing. To make matters worse, trade talks that were set to take place in late August have reportedly been postponed, they said.
August natural gas futures were trading at ₹252.50 on MCX during the initial hour of trading on Tuesday against the previous close of ₹254.60, down by 0.82 per cent.
On the National Commodities and Derivatives Exchange (NCDEX), August jeera contracts were trading at ₹19260 in the initial hour of trading on Tuesday against the previous close of ₹19080, up by 0.94 per cent.
August cottonseed oilcake futures were trading at ₹3320 on NCDEX in the initial hour of trading on Tuesday against the previous close of ₹3296, up by 0.73 per cent.
Published on August 19, 2025