Overview
- Brent slipped to roughly $64–65 a barrel and WTI to about $59–60, unwinding much of a four-to-five session rally driven by geopolitical risk.
- President Trump said he was told killings in Iran had stopped and that planned executions would not proceed, easing expectations of U.S. military action.
- The EIA reported a 3.4 million-barrel U.S. crude inventory build for the week ended Jan. 9, following an API estimate of a 5.23 million-barrel increase.
- Venezuelan exports showed early recovery as two supertankers left with about 1.8 million barrels each, seen as initial cargoes in a possible 50-million-barrel supply deal.
- Analysts highlighted soft fundamentals with some forecasting a sizable 2026 surplus, while Citi noted Iran’s protests have yet to spread to major oil-producing regions.