Investing.com-- Oil prices were steady in European trading on Monday as markets weighed the possibility of a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine.
At 09:17 ET (14:17 GMT), Brent oil futures had inched up by 0.2% to $74.87 a barrel, while U.S. crude futures expiring in March had edged higher by 0.1% to $70.81 per barrel.
U.S. and Russian officials are due to meet in Saudi Arabia this week to discuss possible negotiations on Ukraine peace deal.
The discussions would take place in the Saudi capital of Riyadh on Tuesday, according to a Russian newspaper. Representatives of President Donald Trump's administration will include U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Trump's national security advisor Mike Waltz, and White House Middle East Envoy Steve Witkoff, Reuters has reported. It was not yet clear who Russia would send to the meeting.
Media reports have suggested that the high-level in-person talks -- the first of this kind between U.S. and Russian officials in years -- could be a precursor to a possible face-to-face meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has noted that Kyiv was not invited to the talks in Saudi Arabia, while Ukraine's European allies have voiced concerns that they may be frozen out of the negotiations. French President Emmanuel Macron is due to hold an emergency informal summit of European leaders in Paris on Ukraine.
Analysts have noted that a Russia-Ukraine peace deal and a subsequent easing of sanctions on Russian energy could have implications on global oil supply flows, although indications of solid near-term demand have helped underpin crude prices.
Trade war fears
Meanwhile, gains have been limited by President Trump's move last week to order his economic team to devise a plan for sweeping reciprocal tariffs. Officials have said that proposals are due to be submitted to Trump by April 1.
Investors have fretted that escalating trade tensions between the U.S. and its trading partners, particularly top oil importer China, could weigh heavily on global energy markets.
Elsewhere, OPEC+ is reportedly eyeing postponing monthly production increases that were slated to begin in April, Bloomberg News has reported. Despite Trump calls for lower oil prices, a delegate cited by Bloomberg said that global oil markets are too fragile at the moment to expand output, while another noted that no decision has yet to be made.
(Ayushman Ojha contributed reporting.)