Oil slips as traders eye Russia Ukraine U.S. peace talks

August 19, 2025 (MLN): Oil prices edged lower in early Asian trading on Tuesday as investors weighed upcoming trilateral negotiations between Russia, Ukraine and the United States, which could potentially pave the way for lifting sanctions on Russian crude.

Brent crude futures decreased by $0.53, or 0.80%, to $66.07 per barrel.

West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures fall by $0.51, or 0.80%, to $62.91 per barrel by [1:04 pm] PST.

Oil prices had closed about 1% higher in the previous session.

After meeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and several European leaders at the White House on Monday, U.S. President Donald Trump said on social media that he had spoken with Russian President Vladimir Putin and was working to arrange a meeting between Putin and Zelenskiy, to be followed by a trilateral summit of the three leaders.

Bart Melek, head of commodity strategy at TD Securities, said in a note that a resolution easing tensions and eliminating the risk of secondary tariffs or sanctions could push crude lower toward the firm’s $58-per-barrel target for late 2025 and early 2026.

Zelenskiy described his talks with Trump as “very good,” saying the discussions included Ukraine’s need for U.S. security assurances.

Trump has pushed for a swift end to the conflict, the bloodiest in Europe since World War II, though Kyiv and its allies fear he could attempt to impose a settlement favorable to Moscow.

Melek added that if Washington were to escalate pressure by extending secondary tariffs on buyers of Russian oil similar to measures already applied to India crude prices would likely rebound to recent highs.

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