Oil Market Slips After Surprise Trump-Putin Meeting News

Oil prices dropped slightly on Friday, and both major oil types—Brent crude and US West Texas Intermediate (WTI)—are set for weekly losses.

By early Friday, Brent crude was priced at $60.98 per barrel, down 8 cents. WTI fell 9 cents to $57.37. Both have dropped about 3% this week. This comes after the International Energy Agency warned of too much oil supply by 2026.

Another reason for the drop is the surprising news that US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin plan to meet in Hungary soon to talk about ending the war in Ukraine. This meeting could ease tensions and reduce the risk of supply disruptions, which had helped push prices up earlier in the week.

Analyst Daniel Hynes from ANZ said, “Fears about tighter oil supplies eased after news of the Trump-Putin meeting.”

At the same time, Ukraine is asking the US for more weapons, and the US is urging India and China to buy less oil from Russia to limit Russia’s income.

Adding to the pressure, US oil stockpiles rose more than expected. The latest data showed a 3.5 million barrel increase in US crude inventories, much higher than the predicted 288,000 barrels. This rise is due to lower activity at refineries, which are undergoing regular maintenance.

Also, US oil production hit a record high of 13.636 million barrels per day.

On Thursday, Brent and WTI had their worst closing prices since May 5.

Experts say that while possible peace talks in Ukraine could help calm the markets, many traders are still cautious because of high oil supply, strong US production, and uncertain demand in the future.