Crude oil slid about 2 per cent on Thursday after US President Donald Trump softened threats toward Greenland and Iran, with Brent futures down by $1.18 or 1.8 per cent to settle at $64.06 a barrel and the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures depreciating by $1.26 or 2.1 per cent to $59.36 a barrel.
President Trump said he has secured total and permanent US access to Greenland in a deal with North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO).
He disavowed military action against Greenland but reiterated his desire for US ownership, framing it as a global security imperative.
European Union leaders are rethinking ties with the US at an emergency summit after Mr Trump’s threat of tariffs and even military action badly shook confidence in the transatlantic relationship. The European Parliament announced it was freezing work on approval of the US-EU trade deal agreed in July 2025.
The American President also said he hoped there would be no further US military action in Iran, but added the US would act if Iran resumes its nuclear programme.
Iran, operating under sanctions, is the third-biggest crude producer in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) behind Saudi Arabia and Iraq. With less tension around Greenland and Iran, oil prices had to head south.
There was also pressure as there was some positive movement that could lead to a solution to end Russia’s war in Ukraine.
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy of Ukraine said on Thursday after talks with President Trump in Davos that terms of security guarantees for Ukraine had been finalized, but the vital issue of territory in its war with Russia remains unsolved.
The US President has pressured Ukraine to secure peace after nearly four years of war, despite few signs Russia wants to stop fighting.
A deal to bring peace to Ukraine and lift sanctions on Russia, the world’s third-biggest crude producer, could reduce oil prices by making more fuel available on global markets.
In Venezuela, another sanctioned OPEC member, trading houses Vitol and Trafigura were exporting fuel oil under a US-backed deal following capture of Venezuelan President.
The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) said energy firms added 3.6 million barrels of crude to storage during the week ended January 16.