The indications from the White House today suggest the Ukraine war is on the road to peace. I don't find that to be a big surprise as Zelensky has talked about negotiations and Trump long campaigned for it. There have been reports it would be a multi-year process to remove Russian sanctions so the market may be ahead of itself.

In any case, it will be tough to hold crude through repeated steps to peace in the months ahead (there is said to be an Easter target for a ceasefire). Today was a good example of that as WTI settled lower by $1.95 to $71.37 per barrel.

WTI crude day
WTI crude daily
Source: Forex Live