Oil prices were largely steady on Thursday, paring losses of more than 1% earlier in the session, as a potential peace deal between Russia and Ukraine continued to exert downward pressure, but expectations about a pause in new US tariffs fueled optimism.

Brent crude futures were down 17 cents, or 0.2%, at USD 75.01 a barrel by 11:15 a.m. CST (1715 GMT), while US West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) was down 1 cent, or 0.1%, to USD 71.38. US president Donald Trump said in a social media post that he planned to announce reciprocal tariffs on Thursday, which could take aim at every country that charges duties on US imports.

Market participants said, however, they understood a pause on implementation of the tariffs would allow negotiations until the second quarter. "We saw a big recovery in prices on tariffs not going into effect until April," said Phil Flynn, senior analyst with Price Futures Group. "That will allow time for negotiation." Brent and WTI lost more than 2% on Wednesday.