Lower In Asia

WTI is ~-$2.70 and Brent is ~-$2.10, as both benchmarks operate ~$3 above their Friday’s troughs at typing. Progress over the weekend towards a diplomatic solution re: the Russia-Ukraine conflict applied pressure to crude in Asia dealing with U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman stating late on Sunday that Russia was showing “some signs of a willingness to have real, serious negotiations”.

• To recap, WTI and Brent shed ~$6 last week to record the biggest weekly decline since November. This came as both benchmarks backed away from fresh 14-year highs made on Mar 7 as worry re: a coordinated embargo on Russian crude imports by the U.S., UK, and the EU eased, with the latter still undecided on the measure amidst strong German-led opposition, while hope grew for a diplomatic solution to the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
• Elsewhere, hope for an Iranian nuclear deal remains in limbo, with various parties indicating over the weekend that talks were effectively on hold. While EU officials were quoted by RTRS as stating that “two or three technical issues” remain between the U.S. and Iran, uncertainty has lingered over Russia’s ability to “block” an agreement in the near-term, particularly as the U.S. has indicated an unwillingness to meet Russia’s recently-made demands.
• From a technical perspective, resistance for WTI and Brent is seen at their Mar 11 highs of $110.29 and $113.91 respectively, while support is located at Mar 1 lows of $95.32 for WTI and $98.30 for Brent.