Oil rises as market focuses on Venezuela and US sanctions plans

LONDON: Oil prices rose on Thursday after two days of declines as investors assessed Venezuela developments and reports on progress of proposed U.S. sanctions legislation against countries doing business with Russia.

Brent crude futures were up 99 cents, or 1.7%, at $60.95 a barrel by 1245 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude gained 93 cents, or 1.7%, to $56.92.

Higher prices are led by the U.S. President allowing the Russia sanctions bill to advance, raising fears of further disruption to Russian oil exports, said PVM analyst Tamas Varga.

Republican Senator Lindsey Graham said on Wednesday that Trump had given the green light on the legislation, adding that the bill could be put to a vote as early as next week.

Both benchmarks fell more than 1% for a second day on Wednesday, with market participants expecting abundant global supply this year. Analysts at Morgan Stanley forecast a surplus as high as 3 million barrels per day in the first half of 2026.

U.S. gasoline and distillate stocks increased by more than analyst expectations in the week ended January 2, while crude stocks fell, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday.

On Tuesday, Washington announced a deal with Caracas to gain access to up to $2 billion of Venezuelan crude. The deal initially could require the rerouting of cargoes that were bound for China, sources told Reuters.

The U.S. seized two Venezuela-linked oil tankers in the Atlantic Ocean on Wednesday, one sailing under Russia’s flag, as part of President Donald Trump’s aggressive push to dictate oil flows in the Americas and force Venezuela’s socialist government to become an ally.

In Ukraine, Russian attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure continued while a Russia-bound oil tanker was hit by a drone attack in the Black Sea on Wednesday, maritime sources said.