Crude oil swings to loss on possibility of Biden-Putin summit

Crude oil swings to loss on possibility of Biden-Putin summit

Global markets whipsawed in response to the latest developments in the crisis over Ukraine, with stocks paring losses and oil reversing gains after Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin accepted “the principle” of a summit to ease tensions in eastern Europe.

Brent crude, the international benchmark, pulled back from gains of as much as 1.5 per cent to be down 0.5 per cent at $93.12 a barrel in morning trading in Asia after the White House and French presidency confirmed the US and Russia could meet as part of an effort to defuse the crisis.

Stock benchmarks initially tumbled only to pull back on news of the potential summit. Japan’s Topix fell as much as 1.8 per cent before easing losses to be down 0.6 per cent, while in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index was off 0.5 per cent after initially dipping 1 per cent.

“The market is still very much driven by the Ukraine situation” said Tai Hui, chief Asia markets strategist at JPMorgan Asset Management.

Hui said a possible summit “does provide a bit more of a relief at least for the near term” for oil prices, which recently touched a seven-year high over concerns of an imminent Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Sovereign