Oil futures finished lower Monday, on reports that the U.S. may reach a deal to lift sanctions on Venezuelan oil, which would help ease any losses from Russia following its invasion of Ukraine. Oil prices sold off early on peace talks between Russia and Ukraine, then bounced back a bit when it seemed those talks had little chance for success, said Phil Flynn, senior market analyst at The Price Futures Group. However, oil’s loss was also linked to COVID-related shutdowns in China and reports that the U.S. is going to allow Venezuela to do some oil-for-debt swaps, in an attempt to get more oil on the market, he said. Flynn believes the Biden administration is desperate to do a deal with Venezuela because supplies of diesel fuel are at historically low levels. West Texas Intermediate crude for April delivery fell $6.32, or 5.8%, to settle at $103.01 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange after trading as low as $99.76.
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