Daily Times

Crude oil prices came down after hitting their highest levels in early trade on Monday, amid positive statements from Russia and Ukraine.

As of 1330 hours GMT, Brent, the international benchmark for two-thirds of the world’s oil, shed $0.76 (-0.80 percent) to reach $93.68 a barrel. Brent crude futures hit the highest level since October 2014 at $96.16 earlier in the day.

On the other hand, the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) price reached $92.34 a barrel, down by $0.76 (-0.82 percent). WTI crude rose to $94.94, its highest level in over seven years, earlier in the day.

The price for Opec Basket was recorded at $92.87 a barrel with a gained of 1.12 percent, Arab Light was available at $94.92 a barrel with an increase of 4.22 percent and the price of Russian Sokol jumped to $97.37 a barrel with 5.21 percent increase.

The Kremlin said on Monday that the proposal that Ukraine could abandon its goal to join the US-led NATO military bloc would be a positive step towards reducing tensions between Moscow and Kiev. Russian President Vladimir Putin’s spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said this while responding to a suggestion made by Ukraine’s ambassador to the UK, Vadim Prystaiko, who on Sunday suggested that Kiev was considering ending its goal to join NATO as a way to “avoid” war.

“A recorded refusal by Ukraine, a confirmed rejection of the idea of Ukraine joining NATO, is a step that would contribute significantly to the formulation of a more meaningful response to Russian concerns,” Peskov said.

Oil has been on a remarkable run in recent weeks, driven by very bullish fundamentals, as disrupted supply struggled to keep up with strong demand as well as geopolitical tensions continue to rise in Eastern Europe.

Oil prices are also rising amid difficulties in trying to push up output faced by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies. Last year, the group decided to gradually increase oil production by 400,000 barrels per day until March, but many OPEC producers are failing to pump more crude, each due to their own technological or political problems. The International Energy Agency said oil output by OPEC and its allies in January was 900,000 bpd less than its target.