Europe Asia News

Investors examined the details of the Trump administration’s efforts to secure a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine, triggering a downward trend in the market. January Brent crude futures fell 1.29% to close at $62.56 per barrel, after a 0.2% drop in the previous session.

January West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures dropped 1.59% to $58.06 per barrel after closing 0.5% lower on Thursday. Europe’s Stoxx Oil & Gas index slid by more than 2.4%.

Shares of UK-based Shell and BP fell by 1.4%. Norway’s Equinor declined 2.3%, while Germany’s Siemens Energy suffered a nearly 8% drop. U.S. oil giants Exxon Mobil and Chevron fell 1.1% and 0.6%, respectively.

According to the widely leaked plan, the U.S. is proposing that Ukraine relinquish territories including Crimea, Luhansk and Donetsk, and pledge never to join the NATO military alliance. The plan also states that Kyiv would receive “credible” security guarantees and that the Ukrainian Armed Forces would be capped at 600,000 personnel. Analysts doubted Ukraine would support a plan seen as advantageous to Russia.

Apart from the peace plan discussions, energy market participants focused on the potential impact of U.S. sanctions on Russian oil producers Rosneft and Lukoil, the strengthening U.S. dollar, and expectations surrounding the Federal Reserve’s upcoming interest rate decision.