Brent trades above $113.5, WTI crude slips below $110

Oil prices turned lower on Tuesday, after Brent crude rose above $119 earlier in the session, amid geopolitical tensions in Eastern Europe.

The international benchmark Brent crude was trading down 1.77% at $113.57 per barrel, at 12.40 pm Makkah time.

West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell 2.22% to $109.63 a barrel.

Russell Hardy, CEO of the world's largest independent oil trading company, Vitol, said in a statement that oil demand is rising and is expected to exceed pre-pandemic levels this year.

Meanwhile, EU foreign ministers will discuss further sanctions on Russia, including the country’s energy and oil sector, the bloc's Foreign Policy Chief Josep Borrell said on March 21.

The EU is the largest consumer of crude and fuel from Russia, and the Kremlin has warned that any ban on those products would compound the repercussions for the market and hit the continent hard.

Not all EU members agreed to target Russian oil, as Germany relies on crude imports from Moscow and has refused to impose the embargo, and Hungary opposes the move.