U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures moved higher after trading resumed on the contract. The rise came after a system outage at CME Group that lasted several hours.
By 09:28 ET (14:28 GMT), WTI was up 0.5% at $58.95 per barrel. There was no settlement on Thursday due to the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday.
At the same time, front-month Brent crude futures for January slipped 0.3% to $63.14 per barrel. The more active February contract fell 0.4% to $62.65. Brent crude trades on the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE).
Both WTI and Brent remain on track for a fourth straight monthly decline, marking the longest losing streak since 2023. Traders remain concerned about a potential oversupply. Despite this, both benchmarks are up more than 1% for the week.
Geopolitical developments are influencing Brent in particular. Ongoing peace talks aimed at ending the war in Ukraine continue to shape market sentiment. The U.S. has been working with Kyiv on a revised framework designed to outline phased security guarantees and potential territorial arrangements.
These discussions, held in Geneva in recent days, aim to create a structure that could later support broader negotiations with Russia. Any meaningful progress could reduce sanctions-related restrictions on Russian oil exports over time, removing part of the geopolitical risk premium currently reflected in crude prices.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said the U.S.–Ukraine proposal could eventually serve as the basis for an agreement. However, he emphasized that no final text has been approved and that Russia will not make major concessions. U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff is expected to travel to Moscow next week.
OPEC+ meeting in focus
With geopolitical conditions shifting, attention has turned to the upcoming OPEC+ meeting this weekend. The group, which includes OPEC members and allied producers, is widely expected to keep current production levels unchanged, according to Reuters sources.
Delegates have suggested the alliance may instead prioritize a planned capacity review mechanism. This review is meant to help balance rising non-OPEC output with uneven global demand.
According to ING analysts, the fundamental outlook remains similar to the group’s previous meeting.
