Oil prices weakened during Thursday's Asian deals as growing expectations of a potential ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine triggered speculation that Western sanctions on Moscow could eventually be eased, paving the way for more Russian crude to return to global markets.
Trading volumes remained thin, with the United States Thanksgiving holiday limiting activity.
By 3:30 pm AEDT (4:30 am GMT), Brent crude futures were down 34 cents, or 0.5%, at $62.79 a barrel. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) slipped 30 cents, or 0.6%, to $58.33.
Both benchmarks had settled around 1% higher on Wednesday as investors weighed oversupply concerns against the possibility of progress in peace talks.
Fresh diplomatic efforts added to the cautious tone. U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff is due to travel to Moscow next week with senior American officials to discuss a potential framework to end the nearly four-year war.
However, hopes of swift progress were tempered after a senior Russian diplomat warned Moscow would not offer major concessions, following the leak of a recording in which Witkoff appeared to advise Russia on how to appeal to President Donald Trump.
Additional pressure on crude came from U.S. inventory data. The Energy Information Administration reported that U.S. crude stocks rose 2.8 million barrels last week to 426.9 million barrels, far exceeding market expectations for a modest 500,000-barrel draw.
Attention is also turning to Sunday’s OPEC+ meeting. Three sources told Reuters the group is likely to keep output levels unchanged, continuing with the current production strategy.
Some members have increased supply since April in an effort to defend market share, complicating the bloc’s efforts to manage prices.
