Oil prices rose as markets weighed the risk of additional U.S. sanctions on Russia and the possibility that nuclear talks with Iran would fail to produce a deal.

West Texas Intermediate crude rose more than 2% to $62 a barrel after President Donald Trump said Russian President Vladimir Putin was "playing with fire" by escalating attacks on Ukraine. The U.S. is considering additional sanctions on the country after aggressive actions against Russia's oil industry earlier this year sent crude surging past $80 a barrel. Russia-Ukraine talks are set to be held in Istanbul on June 2, according to RIA Novosti.

Elsewhere, the New York Times reported that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has continued to threaten to disrupt talks between Washington and Tehran by attacking Iran's nuclear facilities. A misstep in the negotiations could derail flows from the OPEC member.

However, bearish forces are still looming. OPEC+ on Wednesday ratified production quotas across the group this year and next, ahead of a decision by the eight main members over the weekend on whether to increase output again in July.

Members held preliminary talks last week to make a big output increase for a third straight month, delegates said. The early conference likely dampened lingering hopes among the broader OPEC+ group for slower-than-anticipated production cuts, said Robert Yawger, director of energy futures at Mizuho Securities USA. "The market is now hanging on OPEC on Saturday," he said.

Idle production increases by OPEC and its allies have fueled concerns about oversupply and added pressure on prices. Part of the Brent futures curve is in contango — a bearish structure that signals ample supply. Oil prices have been falling since mid-January, with the Trump administration's sweeping tariffs and retaliatory measures from targeted countries raising concerns about an economic slowdown. But there have been some signs of trade tensions easing recently. (alg)

Source: Bloomberg