Crude oil prices rose by more than 1% at the start of European trading on Wednesday, December 3, as expectations faded for a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine. This supports the continuation of sanctions on Russian crude, amid anticipation of official inventory figures from the US Energy Information Administration later in the day. US crude (WTI) rose by about 1.60%, trading at $59.58 per barrel, while Brent crude traded at $63.34 per barrel, up about 1.43%.

The Russian government announced on Wednesday morning that a five-hour meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and envoys of US President Donald Trump failed to reach a compromise on a potential peace agreement with Ukraine.

The American Petroleum Institute’s report, released on Tuesday, showed a decline in inventories of 2.48 million barrels in the week ending November 28. Specifically, gasoline inventories rose by about 3.14 million barrels, while distillate inventories, which include heating oil and diesel, increased by about 2.88 million barrels. Markets are awaiting official inventory figures during Wednesday’s session, with estimates indicating a decrease of 1.7 million barrels last week.