Overview
- Brent traded near $61 a barrel and WTI around $57.6 in early Asian hours after both benchmarks fell about 20% in 2025, the steepest annual drop since 2020.
- Washington tightened measures on Venezuela by sanctioning four companies and associated tankers, curbing exports as PDVSA reportedly shuts some Orinoco Belt wells due to swelling storage.
- Ukraine and Russia exchanged allegations of New Year drone attacks on energy infrastructure, injecting short-term supply risk into an otherwise oversupplied market.
- OPEC+ members led by Saudi Arabia and Russia plan a Jan. 4 video conference, with market expectations pointing to no fresh output increases following November’s pause.
- Major forecasts flag a large 2026 surplus, with the IEA citing a glut near 3.8 million barrels a day and U.S. output at a record 13.87 million bpd in October alongside growth from Brazil and Guyana.