Oil prices rose on Wednesday as traders priced in continued geopolitical risk and stringent sanctions after peace talks between Russia and Ukraine appeared to collapse after only two hours.
Futures on Brent crude (BZ=F), the international pricing benchmark, rose over 2% to trade around $69, while those on US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude (CL=F) picked up a slightly stronger 2.5% to trade around $63.80.
In comments after the talks ended, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said the Russian delegation made the negotiations “difficult” and accused Russia of intentionally delaying progress toward a deal that could end the war between the two countries, according to Reuters.
Russia’s chief negotiator, Vladimir Medinsky, also described the US-led talks, held in Geneva, Switzerland, as “difficult” in comments after the negotiations ended.
The oil market has, since the Russian invasion of Ukraine began four years ago, priced in an increasingly high-risk profile around disrupted Russian oil and gas exports. Surprise sanctions from the US Treasury late in 2025 against major Russia oil companies Rosneft and Lukoil have only furthered those tensions.
At the same time, traders are also closely watching the Middle East. While Iran’s foreign minister said talks between Tehran and Washington had reached a potential framework for a deal on Iran’s nuclear program, the X account for Ayatollah Ali Khamenei spent Tuesday posting incendiary comments about the deal, and Iran partially closed the Strait of Hormuz for several hours for naval military exercises.
The Strait of Hormuz is seen as Iran’s biggest lever to pull in any conflict, as the strait sees roughly 20 million barrels of petroleum products per day traverse its waters.