Oil prices fall to $62.77 on Russian supply concerns amid ceasefire talks

U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff is expected to travel to Moscow next week alongside other senior American officials for discussions with Russian leaders

Oil prices edged lower on Thursday amid rising expectations of a potential ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia, a development that could open the door to easing Western sanctions on Russian crude. In addition, market activity was expected to remain subdued due to the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday.

By 5:05 GMT, Brent crude futures were down 36 cents, or 0.57 percent, at $62.77 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures slipped 31 cents, or 0.53 percent, to $58.34 a barrel.

Both benchmarks had closed roughly 1 percent higher on Wednesday as traders weighed the risks of oversupply against emerging hopes for a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine.

U.S. and Russia to hold peace talks next week
The key driver in oil markets this week is the growing momentum toward a potential peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine. U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff is expected to travel to Moscow next week alongside other senior American officials for discussions with Russian leaders on a potential framework to end the nearly four-year war in Ukraine.

Recent reports have suggested that Kyiv has largely signed off on a deal, with only minor details still under discussion.

The possibility that a deal could clear the way for increased Russian crude exports, at a time when global inventories are already well supplied, is likely to keep downward pressure on oil prices in the days ahead.

“The crude oil markets are facing an overriding downside risk due to the expected peace framework between Russia and Ukraine, which, upon ratification, could remove sanctions and flood the markets with Russian oil. The bearish bias here is supported by supply projections, with analysts and EIA predicting a surplus of at least 2 million bpd in 2026 and Brent averaging $54 in the first quarter of 2026, hence indicating a continued build in inventories,” said Vijay Valecha, chief investment officer, Century Financial.