OLOXF - Commodities: Trump-Putin Call Yields Little Progress
2025-05-20 05:48:00 ET
Summary
- Oil prices remain steady as the market digests the Trump-Putin call, which appears to have resulted in no significant breakthroughs.
- Readily available aluminium inventories in London Metal Exchange (LME) warehouses jumped by 92,950 tonnes to 343,025 tonnes yesterday.
- The USDA’s weekly US crop progress report for the week ending 18 May shows domestic corn plantings stood at 78% complete.
By Warren Patterson and Ewa Manthey
Energy – Chinese oil demand falls
The oil market eked out a small gain yesterday, with ICE Brent holding above US$65/bbl. The scheduled call between President Trump and President Putin doesn’t appear to have led to any significant breakthroughs. Trump said that Russia and Ukraine would begin talks on ending the war. However, Putin said the main aim remains to “eliminate the root causes of the crisis”. So, there appears to be little willingness on the Russian side to make any concessions. As such, there was no threat of further sanctions on Russia or a timeline for negotiations. Yet, there are concerns that with Trump leaving negotiations to Russia and Ukraine, the US might step back from its role as mediator. Energy markets have been focused on potential peace talks, with an eventual deal possibly leading to an easing of sanctions against Russia....
Commodities: Trump-Putin Call Yields Little Progress