Oil prices fell to their lowest level in 7 months

Oil prices fell by more than a dollar on Tuesday, falling to less than $60 a barrel, the lowest level since last May, with the increasing possibilities of reaching a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine, which strengthened expectations of a possible easing of sanctions on Moscow.

Brent crude futures fell $1.11, or about 1.8 percent, recording $59.45 per barrel by 1023 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate crude recorded $55.71 per barrel, down 1.11 cents, or nearly two percent.

Rystad Energy analyst Janiv Shah said: “Brent crude fell this morning below $60 per barrel for the first time in months, as the market evaluates a potential peace agreement that would lead to the availability of additional quantities of Russian oil and increase supply in the market.”

The United States offered to provide NATO-style security guarantees to Kiev. European negotiators reported progress in talks on Monday to end the Russian war in Ukraine, raising optimism that the end of the conflict is closer.

The official TASS news agency quoted Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov as saying that Russia had confirmed that it was not prepared to make any territorial concessions in the talks aimed at ending the Ukrainian war.

“Adding to the pressures were weak Chinese economic data released overnight that fueled concerns that global demand may not be strong enough to absorb recent supply growth,” IG analyst Tony Sycamore said in a note.

Yesterday, Monday, official data showed that Chinese factory production growth slowed to its lowest level in 15 months. Retail sales also grew at the slowest pace since December 2022.