Oil prices rose on Friday morning, as investors weighed developments on Russia-Ukraine peace talks.
Brent crude (BZ=F) futures climbed 0.5% to $62.47 per barrel at the time of writing, while West Texas Intermediate futures (CL=F) gained 0.7% at $59.08 a barrel.
Speaking in Kyrgyzstan on Thursday, Russian president Vladimir Putin reportedly said that a draft of peace proposals discussed by the US and Ukraine could form the basis of future agreements to end the war.
He said that the US and Ukraine had decided to divide the 28-point peace plan, which came out of discussions between Washington and Moscow, into four separate components and that this new draft had been sent to Russia.
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“In general, we agree that this could be the basis for future agreements,” Putin said, according to a Reuters report.
However, Putin also said that Russia was prepared to continue fighting if necessary.
He said: “Ukrainian troops must withdraw from the territories they hold, and then the fighting will cease. If they don’t leave, then we shall achieve this by armed means. That’s it.”
According to a BBC report, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said after Putin’s address on Thursday that Russia “scorned” efforts “to truly end the war”.
Hopes of a peace deal to end the war in Ukraine have seen oil prices falling, over expectations that this could result in sanctions being lifted on Moscow and lead to greater oil supply from Russia into the market.
Gold prices also advanced on Friday morning, as forecasts suggested that the precious metal’s rally was set to continue in the coming year.
Gold futures (GC=F) rose 0.5% to $4,187.40 per ounce at the time of writing on Friday morning, while spot gold ticked 0.3% higher to $4,171.02 an ounce.
In a note on Wednesday morning, Deutsche Bank (DBK.DE) research analyst Michael Hsueh said the bank was upgrading its forecast for gold prices in 2026.
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He said Deutsche Bank expected gold prices to average towards $4,450 per ounce in 2026, up from a previous forecast of $4,000. The bank expected gold prices to have a yearly range of $3,950 to $4,950 an ounce in 2026.
Meanwhile, Bank of America analysts have said that gold prices could reach as high as $5,000 in 2026.
Gold prices have risen over the past week, as expectations have risen that the US Federal Reserve could cut interest rates in December. The prospect of lower rates tends to see gold prices rise, as this boosts the appeal of holding the precious metal as a non-yielding asset.
The pound edged down against the dollar (GBPUSD=X) on Friday, as investors continued to digest the economic impact of measures unveiled by UK chancellor Rachel Reeves in Wednesday’s autumn budget.
Reeves announced over £26bn of tax hikes in the budget, which the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) estimated would double her fiscal headroom to £21.7bn. However, analysts have highlighted that much of the tax increases are backloaded towards the end of five-year economic forecast period.
Derren Nathan, head of equity research at Hargreaves Lansdown, said the chancellor delivered “what was widely seen as a fiscally responsible budget”.
“Gilt yields remain below where they were on Monday, a sign of growing trust by those who lend to the Treasury,” he said. “The market’s now pricing in a 94% chance of a quarter-point cut by the Bank of England next month.”
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The pound was little changed against the euro (GBPEUR=X) on Friday morning, trading at €1.1406 at the time of writing.
More broadly, the FTSE 100 (^FTSE) rose 0.2% in early European trading to 9,709 points. For more details on market movements check our live coverage here.
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