Crude oil prices continue to rise as prospects for peace between Russia and Ukraine remain slim. After the ADP report showed a drop in recruitment numbers last month, WTI futures lost upward momentum for a while, but then resumed gains. “Overall, the crude oil market is still in a tug-of-war phase,” notes XMarabia analyst Nadir Belbarka. He believes that geopolitical tensions and OPEC production quotas help limit supply and thereby push up prices, “while demand concerns and macroeconomic uncertainty are preventing continued breakthroughs in oil prices.” Belbarca said that if the current situation continues, “crude oil may maintain range-bound fluctuations with a slight upward trend.”

Crude oil prices continue to rise as prospects for peace between Russia and Ukraine remain slim. After the ADP report showed a drop in recruitment numbers last month, WTI futures lost upward momentum for a while, but then resumed gains. “Overall, the crude oil market is still in a tug-of-war phase,” notes XMarabia analyst Nadir Belbarka. He believes that geopolitical tensions and OPEC production quotas help limit supply and thereby push up prices, “while demand concerns and macroeconomic uncertainty are preventing continued breakthroughs in oil prices.” Belbarca said that if the current situation continues, “crude oil may maintain range-bound fluctuations with a slight upward trend.”