The prices of the two reference oil pricesBrent and WTI, fell more than 5% this Tuesday, reacting to the advances in the talks between Ukraine and Russia but also to the confinement in China due to COVID-19, which is weighing down demand.
By 1230 GMT, North Sea Brent for May delivery was down 5.95% to $105.79 a barrel, and US WTI fell 6.14% to $99.45, below the symbolic mark of US$100 a barrel.
The Ukrainians’ chief negotiator declared on Tuesday that the results of the meeting in Istanbul are sufficient to allow a meeting between the presidents of Russia and UkraineVladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky.
This dialogue seeks to end the conflict that has left nearly 20,000 dead and forced 10 million people to flee their homes since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24.
The expectations after the appointment – which the Turkish Foreign Minister, Mevlüt Cavusoglu, described as the “most important progress” since the beginning of the war – allowed the ruble to rise 10% against the dollar and the European stock markets also reacted to the rose with a rise of 3.5% in Frankfurt, 3.5% in Paris and a gain of 1.2% in London.
“This is the first time during this conflict that we have seen any indication of a form of easing of military actions by Russia,” SEB analyst Bjarne Schieldrop told AFP.
