Overview
- Brent hovered around $59–$60 and WTI in the mid‑$50s on Friday, marking a second straight weekly decline for both benchmarks.
- President Donald Trump’s order to block sanctioned tankers to and from Venezuela sparked only brief gains as traders questioned enforcement and Venezuelan cargoes to China continued.
- Growing optimism over a potential Russia‑Ukraine peace deal reduced perceived supply risk and weighed on crude prices, analysts said.
- Industry trackers reported large volumes of crude on water and rising floating storage, reinforcing a 2026 surplus narrative that has muted geopolitical risk premiums.
- OPEC+ is pausing planned output increases through Q1 2026 after a modest December rise, while new sanctions on Russian-linked flows and Ukrainian strikes on refineries provided only short‑lived price support.