Oil prices maintained weekly stability on Friday as market sentiment strengthened around an expected U.S. Federal Reserve rate cut, rising geopolitical tension between Washington and Caracas, and stalled diplomatic engagements in Moscow.
The developments supported crude futures despite a marginal pullback in both benchmarks during early trading.
Brent crude oil, against which Nigerian crude oil is priced, dipped by 0.05% to $63.23 per barrel but remained largely unchanged week-on-week. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) slipped 0.17% to $59.57 per barrel, though it posted a 1.7% weekly gain.
Analysts said the market continues to balance short-term price fluctuations against broader supply and demand expectations.
Optimism surrounding a potential 25-basis-point rate cut at next week’s Federal Reserve policy meeting has contributed to improved demand forecasts.
According to a survey of economists, 82% expect monetary easing, a move that would strengthen economic activity and support energy consumption.
Supply-side concerns also remained central to market pricing. Recent disruptions in Kazakhstan’s crude shipments following a drone strike on a loading facility linked to the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) reduced export volumes and provided additional support for prices. The CPC system is one of the major conduits for Kazakhstan’s oil supply to the global market.
Geopolitical risks further influenced trader positioning. The United States’ signal of potential action against Venezuela, particularly activities linked to drug trafficking, has raised uncertainty around the stability of the country’s oil output.
Venezuela currently produces around 1.1 million barrels per day, most of which is exported to China. Any disruption would tighten global supply conditions.
Meanwhile, negotiations in Moscow between U.S. officials and Russian counterparts failed to deliver progress toward a peace arrangement that could influence the return of Russian barrels to the international market. The deadlock sustained expectations of continued supply restrictions related to the ongoing conflict.
The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies (OPEC+) maintained their position of keeping production steady into early next year. The decision offers pricing support as the alliance continues to manage oversupply concerns.
However, the surplus in some regions remains evident. Saudi Arabia reduced its January Arab Light crude official selling price (OSP) to Asia to the lowest level in five years, reflecting soft regional demand and increased availability.
Despite these factors, traders noted that crude prices have shown resilience. WTI’s back-to-back weekly gains highlight the market’s response to anticipated macroeconomic easing and ongoing geopolitical constraints that could limit near-term supply increases.