Oil prices rose on Thursday (November 27) as market participants weighed the possibility of reaching a deal in negotiations to end the war in Ukraine, with trading volumes thin due to the Thanksgiving holiday in the US.

Brent crude futures closed up 21 cents, or 0.2%, at $63.34 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 45 cents, or 0.8%, to $59.10 a barrel at 1:46 p.m. ET (18:46 GMT).

The market is torn between hope and skepticism over renewed peace efforts in Ukraine, said SEB commodities analyst Ole Hvalbye.

U.S. and Ukrainian delegations will meet this week to work on a formula discussed at the Geneva talks to achieve peace and provide security guarantees for Kyiv, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said.

Both sides have been trying to narrow the gap over President Donald Trump's plan to end Europe's deadliest conflict since World War II. Kyiv remains cautious about accepting a deal largely based on Russian terms, including territorial concessions.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said the outline of a draft peace plan discussed by the US and Ukraine could form the basis of a deal to end the war. Putin also said that once Ukrainian forces withdraw from key areas, fighting will cease, but Russia will achieve its goals by force if that does not happen.

"Geopolitical volatility continues, and hopes for a potential ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine have offset supply concerns stemming from new US sanctions on key Russian producers," Barclays said in a note.

Meanwhile, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies are likely to keep oil production levels unchanged at their meeting on Sunday and agree on a mechanism to assess members' maximum production capacity, two delegates from the group and a source familiar with the OPEC+ talks told Reuters.

The eight OPEC+ countries, which had been gradually increasing production since 2025, are expected to maintain their policy of halting production increases in the first quarter of 2026, the two delegates said.

Crude oil prices were also supported by growing expectations of a US Federal Reserve interest rate cut in December. Lower interest rates typically stimulate economic growth and increase oil demand. (alg)

Source: Reuters.com