Published Wed, Feb 18, 2026 · 09:09 PM
[LONDON] Oil prices gained nearly 3 per cent on Wednesday (Feb 18) after peace talks between Ukraine and Russia in Geneva ended after only two hours, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy describing them as “difficult”.
Brent crude oil futures were up US$1.85, or 2.7 per cent, to US$69.27 a barrel at 1227 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate crude was up US$1.78, or 2.9 per cent, at US$64.11.
After talks ended, Zelenskiy accused Russia of deliberately seeking to delay progress towards a deal to end the four-year-old war.
Russia’s chief negotiator Vladimir Medinsky said the talks were difficult but business-like, and that a new round would be held soon.
The US-mediated talks in Switzerland took place as US President Donald Trump has twice in recent days suggested it was up to Ukraine to take steps to ensure their success.
Hungary has halted shipments of diesel to neighbouring Ukraine and will not resume them unless Ukraine restarts crude shipments via the Druzhba pipeline to Hungary, Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said on Wednesday.
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There have been weeks of disrupted supplies of Russian oil flows through Ukraine to Slovakia and Hungary, which Kyiv blames on a Russian attack on Jan 27.
On Tuesday, oil prices fell after Iran and the US reached an understanding on “guiding principles” in talks aimed at resolving their longstanding nuclear dispute, though that does not mean a deal is imminent, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said.
Just as talks began on Tuesday, Iranian state media said Iran was temporarily shutting parts of the Strait of Hormuz, a vital global oil supply route, due to “security precautions” while its elite Revolutionary Guards conducted military drills there. Later, state media said the strait had been shut for a few hours, without making it clear if it had fully reopened.
“Iran knows Trump’s negotiation tactics now. It also knows that a disruption in oil exports out of the Strait of Hormuz and a rally in the oil price to US$150 per barrel is the very last thing Trump wants,” said SEB chief commodities analyst Bjarne Schieldrop in a note. “Iran has time to negotiate in calmness.”
Iran and Russia will conduct navy drills in the Sea of Oman and the northern Indian Ocean on Thursday, the Iranian semi-official Fars news agency reported, a few days after Revolutionary Guards conducted military drills in the Strait of Hormuz.
Political consultancy Eurasia Group said in a Tuesday note to clients that it thinks there is a 65 per cent probability of US military strikes against Iran by the end of April.
Investors will watch for weekly reports by the American Petroleum Institute, due later in the day, and the Energy Information Administration, the statistical arm of the US Department of Energy, on Thursday.
Analysts polled by Reuters estimated that US crude oil stockpiles likely rose last week, while distillate and petrol inventories probably fell. REUTERS
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