Oil jumped after the US announced sanctions on Russia’s biggest producers, as President Donald Trump ramps up pressure on his counterpart Vladimir Putin to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine.

Brent surged as much as 2.9% to trade above $64 a barrel and West Texas Intermediate rallied after the US blacklisted state-run giant Rosneft PJSC and Lukoil PJSC, citing Moscow’s lack of commitment to Ukrainian peace. Trump is also seeking to squeeze Russia’s key crude buyers — India and China.

The sanctions mark a U-turn for Trump, who had announced last week he would meet Putin in the coming weeks and said repeatedly he believed Russia wanted to end the war. But on Tuesday, he said he didn’t want a wasted meeting.

Following the sanctions, Trump said he planned to speak to Chinese President X

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