Overview
- Prices recovered in thin early Monday trading after Friday’s more than 2% slide, with Brent around $61–$62 a barrel and WTI near $57–$58.
- Russia and Ukraine hit each other’s energy infrastructure over the weekend, including a Kherson heating plant and Russia’s Syzran refinery, reinforcing a short-term risk premium.
- President Trump and President Zelenskiy reported progress in talks but no breakthrough, with territorial control of Donbas flagged as a key unresolved issue.
- Analysts continue to highlight bearish fundamentals, citing an International Energy Agency forecast that 2026 supply could exceed demand by about 3.84 million barrels per day and steep year‑to‑date declines in Brent and WTI.
- Heightened regional risks, including Saudi airstrikes in Yemen and Iranian rhetoric, lent support, while markets also tracked U.S. enforcement against Venezuelan shipments and China’s growth support and continued crude stockpiling.