WTI drops to near $97.50 as US waives Russia oil sanctions
West Texas Intermediate (WTI) oil price declines after seven days of gains, trading around 97.40 per barrel during Asian hours on Monday.
US President Donald Trump defended his recent decision to waive sanctions on Russia, accusing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of prolonging the war. In a post on Truth Social, Trump stated that his goal is to negotiate peace in the Russia-Ukraine conflict without driving Russia away from the bargaining table. The sanctions waiver, signed late Friday, temporarily lifted broad sanctions mandated by legislation named after Senator Lindsey Graham.
Trump also temporarily waived sanctions on Russian diesel, aiming to lower fuel prices ahead of the US elections early next month. However, the move drew criticism from Kyiv and its allies, and resulted in a strained relationship between Trump and Zelenskyy. Despite claiming that "great progress" is being made in the war talks, Trump accused Ukraine of targeting Russian refineries to harm the Republican Party ahead of the November 3 election.
He further accused Zelenskyy of deliberately targeting Russian refineries to hurt US diesel markets and suggested that the Ukrainian leader doesn't want to end the war.
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