Oil prices weakened again on Wednesday after the market digested US President Donald Trump's statement regarding a deal to import Venezuelan crude oil to the United States. The main sentiment was the potential for increased supply to the world's largest oil consumer, at a time when the market was already sensitive to oversupply concerns.

In the latest trading session, Brent fell around 1% to $60.09 per barrel, while WTI weakened 1.37% to $56.35 per barrel. This decline extended the weakness from the previous session, when the market increasingly leaned toward the "loose supply" narrative for early 2026.

Trump said Venezuela would "hand over" around 30-50 million barrels of sanctioned oil to be shipped to the US and sold at market prices. This agreement is believed to divert some cargoes previously destined for China, potentially concentrating Venezuelan oil flows further on the US market.

The problem is, the oil market is not currently undersupplied—quite the opposite. Several analysts see the potential for a global surplus becoming more apparent in early 2026, so any news pointing to additional supply (or easing of distribution bottlenecks) tends to immediately put downward pressure on prices.

Data-wise, the API report also provided mixed signals: US crude oil inventories fell by around 2.77 million barrels, but fuel stocks rose—keeping the market cautious about the strength of demand. Investors are now awaiting official inventory data from the US government for confirmation of the next direction. (Arl)

Source: Newsmaker.id