President Donald Trump said the sliding price of oil is intensifying pressure on Russia and boosting the odds for a deal to end its war in Ukraine.

“I think Russia, with the price of oil right now — oil has gone down — I think we’re in a good position to settle,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Monday. “They want to settle; Ukraine wants to settle. If I weren’t president, nobody would be settling.”

West Texas Intermediate, the US benchmark, was trading around $57.21 Monday afternoon, down roughly 27 per cent since Trump took office in January.

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries’ weekend decision to pump more crude — even with demand expected to fall amid Trump’s trade war — has pushed prices lower. 

Trump has repeatedly prodded the OPEC cartel to boost output and lower prices, arguing it would starve Russia of revenue and help bring an end to the war. Administration officials have also raised the prospect of more sanctions and other tools to intensify economic pressure on Russia, as peace talks drag on. 

The president’s comments come a week ahead of his planned trip to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. It also coincides with efforts by the European Union to curb Russia’s energy might with a planned proposal to ban Russian gas imports by the end of 2027, Bloomberg reported.

While Trump is cheering on lower oil prices as a cudgel against Russia, the drop is causing heartburn for some US energy producers. Trump has vowed to “drill, baby, drill” and boost US oil and gas output, but the declining crude prices could make some wells and domestic production uneconomic.

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Published on May 6, 2025