Mar 14, 2022 03:55AM ET
By: AnalysisWatch
Oil prices fell as much as $4 a barrel on Monday, rebounding from last week's decline as diplomatic efforts to contain the war in Ukraine intensified and markets adjusted to a U.S. interest rate hike.
Brent crude futures were $3.81, or 3.4 percent, lower at $108.86 per barrel at 02:41 ET on Monday.
West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil futures in the United States were down $3.85, or 3.5 percent, at $105.48 per barrel.
Both contracts have soared since Russia's invasion of Ukraine on February 24 and have gained about 40% this year.
On Monday, Ukrainian and Russian negotiators will negotiate again via video link after each side announced that progress has been made.
Negotiators expressed their highest hopes after the weekend talks, predicting that favorable results could be achieved within days.
US Undersecretary of State Wendy Sherman said on Sunday that Russia was beginning to show signs of readiness for substantive talks on Ukraine, and Ukrainian negotiator Mikhail Podolyak said Russia was beginning to "talk constructively".
The Russian invasion, which Moscow calls a "special operation," has shaken energy markets around the world.
The Federal Open Market Committee is scheduled to meet on March 15 and 16 to decide whether to raise interest rates.
The Federal Reserve is expected to start raising interest rates this week, putting pressure on oil prices. Oil prices typically move in the opposite direction to the US dollar: a stronger dollar makes commodities more expensive for holders of foreign currencies.
Last week, Brent crude lost 4.8% and US WTI 5.7%, the sharpest weekly decline since November. This came after both contracts hit their highest levels since 2008 at the start of the week on supply concerns after the US and its European allies considered banning Russian oil imports.
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