DTN Oil Update
Oil Ends up Over 2% on Renewed Ukraine Tensions
SECAUCUS, N.J. (DTN) -- Oil futures settled up more than 2% Monday, Dec. 29, extending early-day gains, as tensions escalated between Russia and Ukraine, amid efforts toward peace talks led by the Trump administration.
The market rebounded, recovering most of Friday's losses, after the Kremlin announced Russia is reviewing its position in negotiations with Ukraine. This pivot follows Russia's claim that it intercepted 91 Ukrainian drones targeting a presidential residence in the Novgorod region.
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Reuters reported that U.S. President Donald Trump was very angry after Russian President Vladimir Putin mentioned the attack in a Monday phone call.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy dismissed the alleged attempt on the Russian presidential residence as a fabrication. Following his meeting with Zelenskyy on Sunday, Dec. 28, Trump described the Ukraine peace talks as productive but added that some thorny issues remained.
Aside from the renewed escalation in Russia-Ukraine tensions, oil futures rose supported by reports that China's 2026 fiscal expansion will prioritize continued builds of its strategic crude stockpiling program.
Beijing's commitment to absorbing global supply surpluses to stimulate its cooling economy helped offset the impact of holiday-thinned trading volumes and a delayed report on U.S. oil inventories from the Energy Information Administration.
The NYMEX WTI futures contract for February delivery settled $1.34 higher at $58.08 bbl. Front-month ICE Brent futures contract increased by $1.30 to settled at $61.94 bbl.
NYMEX January ULSD futures advanced by $0.0205 at close at $2.1275 gallon. The front-month RBOB contract edged up $0.0181 to finish at $1.7152 gallon.
The U.S. Dollar Index was little changed at 97.715 points.