Oil rises as market focuses on Venezuela and US sanctions plans

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

Brent crude futures were up $1.21, or 2%, at $61.17 a barrel U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude gained $1.10, or nearly 2%, to $57.09.

Higher prices are led by U.S. President Donald Trump 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 to 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 analysts expected 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 worth of Venezuelan crude. The deal initially could require the rerouting of cargoes that were bound for China, sources told Reuters.

U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said there was room to balance roles for both the United States and China in Venezuela to allow for commerce but that Washington would not allow Beijing to have major control over the Latin American country.

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. Reuters