Oil Prices Dip on Ease in Global Supply Disruptions Fear

By Adedapo Adesanya

Oil prices went down on Friday following ease in global supply disruptions with Brent crude declining by 28 cents or 0.37 per cent to settle at $74.74 a barrel and the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) losing 55 cents or 0.77 per cent to quote at $70.74 a barrel.

For the week, it ended mixed with Brent gaining 0.11 per cent and the WTI depreciating by about 0.37 per cent.

Prices reacted to the prospects for a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine that could ease global supply disruptions by ending sanctions against the Vladimir Putin-led country.

President Donald Trump ordered US officials this week to begin talks on ending the war in Ukraine after Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy expressed a desire for peace in separate phone calls with him.

Market analysts noted that lifting sanctions on Russia in the event of a peace deal should boost global energy supplies.

Already, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said in its latest oil market report that Russian oil exports could be sustained if workarounds to the latest US sanctions package are found.

The US Treasury Secretary, Mr Scott Bessent, also said in an interview that the US could apply maximum economic pressure on Iran, a move that was reminiscent of Mr Trump’s first term which had driven Iran’s oil exports to near zero.

However, the losses were limited by a delay in US immediate reciprocal tariffs, which could be instituted back in April.Analysts from JPMorgan said global oil demand has surged to 103.4 million barrels per day, up by 1.4 million barrels per day from the prior year.

“Initially sluggish demand for mobility and heating fuels picked up in the second week of February, suggesting the gap between actual and projected demand will soon narrow,” the bank said on Friday.

US energy firms this week added oil and natural gas rigs for a third week in a row for the first time since December 2023, according to energy services firm Baker Hughes.

The oil and gas rig count, an early indicator of future output, rose by two to 588 in the week to February 14.