Oil prices extend gains with falling supplies in focus | Reuters

Oil prices extend gains with falling supplies in focus | Reuters

Oil prices rose by more than 2% on Wednesday after Moscow said that peace talks with Ukraine had hit a dead end, fuelling supply worries, while weak economic data from China and Japan kept a lid on gains.

Brent crude rose by $2.26, or 2.2%, to $106.90 a barrel by 1126 GMT while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures gained $2.02, or 2%, to $102.62. Both benchmarks had surged by more than 6% on Tuesday.

"The downside for oil prices is limited," said OANDA senior market analyst Jeffrey Halley, citing the Russian comments on peace talks and U.S. President Joe Biden accusing Russia of genocide. These "are reinforcing that the Ukraine-Russia situation will not be de-escalating any time soon".

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday blamed Ukraine for derailing peace talks and said Moscow would not let up on what it calls a "special operation" to disarm its neighbour. read more