Oil Prices Today
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| Oil Prices Today |
Oil prices extended losses Tuesday, March 29, as Ukraine and Russia headed for peace talks and amid demand concerns due to lockdown measures in Shanghai, China's financial hub, due to the outbreak of COVID-19 cases.
- Brent crude futures fell 60 cents to $111.88 a barrel by 06:49 GMT.
- US Texas crude futures fell by 59 cents to $105.37 a barrel, after falling to $103.46 a barrel earlier.
Both contracts lost about 7% on Monday. Officials from Ukraine and Russia meet on Tuesday in Istanbul for their first peace talks in two weeks.
Sanctions imposed on Russia after the start of its operation in Ukraine had limited oil supplies and pushed oil prices to a 14-year high earlier this month. Russia describes what it is doing in Ukraine as a "special military operation".
The impact of the supply shortage was offset by two-stage shutdown measures in Shanghai over nine days that are expected to hurt fuel demand in China, the world's largest oil importer.
Markets are also awaiting the meeting of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, the group known as OPEC +, on Thursday.
The group is likely to stick to its limited increases in oil production in May, according to several sources familiar with the matter, despite the price hike and calls from the United States and other countries to increase production.