Oil prices moved higher on Monday as fresh geopolitical developments injected new uncertainty into global crude supply and offset lingering concerns about oversupply and weak fundamentals.
Brent crude oil, against which the Nigerian crude oil is priced, rose 46 cents or 0.8% to $60.93 per barrel by early Asian trading, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude climbed 46 cents or 0.8% to $56.98.
The gains followed reports that U.S. authorities had intercepted an oil tanker in international waters off the coast of Venezuela.
The latest move by the United States has renewed market attention on geopolitical risk premiums that had largely faded in recent weeks as crude prices trended lower on demand concerns and rising supply expectations.
Market analysts said the action signaled a more aggressive stance by Washington toward Venezuela’s oil exports, which have remained a sensitive issue in global energy markets.
“The market is waking up to the fact that the Trump administration is taking a hardline approach to the Venezuelan oil trade,” said June Goh, senior oil market analyst at Sparta Commodities.
She added that prices were being supported by geopolitical developments “in an otherwise very bearish market fundamentally.”
U.S. officials confirmed that the Coast Guard is pursuing an oil tanker in international waters near Venezuela. If successful, the operation would mark the second such interception over the weekend and the third in less than two weeks. The White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The renewed focus on Venezuela follows U.S. President Donald Trump’s earlier announcement of a “total and complete” blockade on sanctioned Venezuelan oil tankers. That declaration, combined with stepped-up enforcement actions, has raised fears of supply disruptions, particularly for markets that rely on indirect or shadow trade routes.
Beyond Venezuela, broader geopolitical tensions are also providing support to oil prices. Reports of a Ukrainian drone strike on a Russian shadow fleet vessel in the Mediterranean Sea have added another layer of risk to global energy logistics, according to analysts.
Tony Sycamore, an analyst at IG, said these developments were helping to counterbalance oversupply concerns.
He noted that the market is “losing hope that the U.S.-brokered Russia-Ukraine peace talks will reach a lasting agreement any time soon,” which has implications for energy supply and sanctions enforcement.
Talks between U.S., European, and Ukrainian officials aimed at ending the war in Ukraine took place over the past three days in Florida, according to U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff.
He described the discussions as productive and focused on aligning positions among the parties involved. Separate talks with Russian negotiators were also held.
However, a top foreign policy aide to Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Sunday that changes made by European and Ukrainian officials to U.S. proposals had not improved the prospects for peace, reinforcing market skepticism over a near-term resolution to the conflict.
Despite Monday’s rebound, oil prices remain under pressure on a weekly basis. Brent and WTI both fell about 1% last week following a sharper decline of roughly 4% in the previous week as investors priced in expectations of ample supply and uncertain demand growth heading into 2026.
Analysts caution that while geopolitical headlines are providing near-term support, underlying fundamentals remain fragile.
Rising non-OPEC supply, resilient U.S. production, and concerns over global economic growth continue to cap upside potential.
Still, market participants say the balance of risks may be shifting. “Combined with the false break lower last week, which caught the market on the wrong foot, the risk profile is now very close to tilting back toward the upside in crude oil,” Sycamore said.