Oil prices fluctuated between gains and losses as traders weighed the prospects for a Ukraine-Russia peace deal that could ease political risks in an already oversupplied market.

West Texas Intermediate crude traded near $58, little changed after its biggest weekly loss since early October. Ukraine and its European allies signaled that there were still key points of contention in U.S.-brokered peace talks to end the Russian invasion, although senior officials praised progress in securing more favorable terms for Kyiv.

"Something good may be happening," President Donald Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social about the talks.

Refined products like diesel and gasoline—which had been rising in recent weeks—fell on Monday. Some trend-following commodity trading advisors sold their positions in those products, although most remained in the red, according to data from Bridgeton Research Group.

Crude oil prices have plummeted this year, with futures on track for a fourth monthly loss in November, in what would be the longest losing streak since 2023. The decline is driven by rising global production, including from OPEC+, with the International Energy Agency forecasting a record surplus for 2026.

Traders are monitoring whether a deal on Ukraine will materialize and whether sanctions on Russia will be lifted—developments that could inject more supply.

"We should expect a nervous oil market ahead of Thanksgiving on Thursday," said Arne Lohmann Rasmussen, chief analyst at A/S Global Risk Management.

"Several factors suggest that a peace agreement or a possible ceasefire moved closer over the weekend, which supports further price declines this week."

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Monday that negotiations had reached a "critical moment" as he indicated that discussions over territory and sovereignty would prove difficult.

WTI for January delivery rose 0.6% to $58.39 a barrel at 11:05 a.m. in New York. Brent crude for January settlement edged up 0.5% to $62.85 per barrel. (alg)

Source: Bloomberg.com