Global oil prices climbed more than 2% last week as uncertainty over Russia–Ukraine ceasefire talks continued to unsettle markets.
According to Reuters, benchmark Brent crude rose 2.9% while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) gained 1.4% for the week. On Friday, Brent settled at $67.73 per barrel, up 0.09%, while WTI closed at $63.66 per barrel, up 0.22%.
UBS commodities analyst Giovanni Staunovo said investors are awaiting U.S. President Donald Trump’s next move but see little chance of significant progress in negotiations anytime soon.
Fighting intensified during the week, with Russia launching airstrikes near the EU border and Ukraine retaliating by damaging a Russian refinery and a key Druzhba pipeline station—raising concerns of supply disruptions to Hungary and Slovakia. Analysts warn prolonged uncertainty could invite harsher U.S. sanctions on Russia.
Meanwhile, Estonia announced it was ready to send peacekeepers to Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin insisted that Kyiv must abandon its NATO aspirations and claims over Donbas, while Trump pledged that any settlement would safeguard Ukraine’s sovereignty.
Adding further upward pressure on prices, U.S. crude inventories fell by 6 million barrels in the week ending August 15—well above analysts’ forecast of a 1.8 million-barrel decline, according to the Energy Information Administration. The number of active oil and gas rigs in the U.S. also dropped for the fourth straight week to 538, the lowest since July.
