- WTI trades flat as markets await Sunday’s OPEC+ meeting, expecting production increases to remain paused.
- Oil prices may rise on supply concerns after Ukrainian drone strikes on Russian Oil facilities and escalating tensions.
- The US Treasury sanctioned Oil traders, including four tankers, for aiding Venezuela’s Maduro government in evading restrictions.
West Texas Intermediate (WTI) Oil price holds ground after registering modest losses in the previous trading session, hovering near $57.50 during the Asian hours on Friday. Traders are awaiting Sunday’s virtual meeting of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies (OPEC+), with expectations that the group will uphold its November decision to pause further production increases.
Oil prices could edge higher on potential supply concerns amid escalating geopolitical tensions. Ukrainian drones reportedly struck Russian Oil facilities, while Russia and Ukraine exchanged accusations of civilian attacks on New Year’s Day, despite intensive talks overseen by US President Donald Trump aimed at ending the nearly four-year conflict.
Reuters reported that the US Treasury Department announced sanctions on Wednesday against Oil traders accused of helping Venezuela’s Maduro government evade restrictions, including four tankers allegedly part of a so-called “shadow fleet.”
The Panama-flagged Nord Star, the Guinea-flagged Lunar Tide, and the Hong Kong-flagged Della, all sanctioned on Wednesday, have transported Venezuelan crude or fuel this year to destinations in Asia and the Caribbean.
The measures are preventing sanctioned vessels from entering or leaving Venezuela, forcing the state Oil company PDVSA to adopt extreme measures to avoid refinery shutdowns as residual fuel inventories accumulate.
US Energy Information Administration (EIA) data showed US crude inventories fell by 1.934 million barrels last week, the largest draw since mid-November and well above expectations for a 0.9 million-barrel decline.
