China’s Xi speaks with Trump by phone, discusses Taiwan and bilateral ties
Investing.com -- Oil prices fell sharply Friday, heading for a weekly decline as traders assessed a U.S.-Russia-backed Ukraine peace proposal.
At 08:15 ET (13:15 GMT), Brent Oil Futures expiring in January fell 0.6% to $63.01 per barrel and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures dropped 0.8% to $58.53 per barrel.
Both contracts were set to lose over 2% for the week, pressured by the resumption of loadings at Russia’s key export hub amid broader supply glut worries.
Zelenskiy ready to work on Ukraine peace plan
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said he has received a 28-point peace plan jointly drafted by the U.S. and Russia, signaling his willingness to work on it swiftly. He also expects to speak with U.S. President Donald Trump in the coming days.
That said, a Reuters report said that Kyiv would be required to give up the entire Donbas region and significantly downsize its military, terms that Ukraine’s supporters have long viewed as effectively amounting to surrender.
This suggests a peace deal could still be some way off, even as the mere suggestion of an end to the conflict reduced the war risk premium, with the end of the war likely enabling more supply from Russia into the global market.
Meanwhile, U.S. sanctions on Russian oil majors Rosneft and Lukoil formally come into force later Friday, following a wind-down period.
The sanctions announced earlier this year are already being felt as key buyers in India and China have pulled back from purchasing cargoes.
U.S. jobs data dims Fed cut bets
Also weighing in sentiment was the the release of the delayed U.S. jobs report on Thursday, which further dampened hopes of a Federal Reserve rate cut in December.
Data showed an unexpected addition of 119,000 jobs for September, but the unemployment rate rose to 4.4%, and earlier months were revised down.
Markets interpreted the data as undercutting the case for imminent monetary easing, which in turn weakens demand support for oil.
"Given the Fed’s recent hawkish shift and the lack of official data scheduled before the 10 December FOMC meeting, it is understandable that the market thinks the next move won’t come until early 2026," ING analysts said in a note.
Ayushman Ojha contributed to this article