Oil prices gain on US inventory draw, Venezuela in focus

TOKYO – Oil prices gained slightly on Thursday, rebounding from two days of declines, as a larger-than-expected draw in US crude inventories provided some impetus for investors to buy futures while they monitor developments in Venezuela.

Brent crude futures climbed 38 cents, or 0.6%, to USD 60.34 a barrel by 0104 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate crude was at USD 56.36 a barrel, up 37 cents, or 0.7%.

Both benchmarks fell more than 1% for a second day on Wednesday with market participants expecting ample global supply this year, including analysts at Morgan Stanley, who estimate a surplus of as much as 3 million barrels per day in the first half of 2026.

The declines led some traders to take an opportunity to buy futures on Thursday, said Mitsuru Muraishi, an analyst at Fujitomi Securities.

“Pullback buying has nudged prices slightly higher, but persistent oversupply concerns are capping upside momentum. While markets are watching developments in Venezuela, the downward trend is likely to continue for now,” he said, forecasting that WTI will likely fall below USD 54.

US crude stocks dropped by 3.8 million barrels to 419.1 million barrels in the week ended January 2, the Energy Information Administration said, compared with analysts’ expectations in a Reuters poll for a 447,000-barrel rise.

The US needs to control Venezuela’s oil sales and revenue indefinitely to stabilize that country’s economy, rebuild its oil sector and ensure it acts in America’s interests, top US officials said on Wednesday.

Oil producer Chevron is in talks with the US government to expand a key license to operate in Venezuela so it can increase crude exports to its own refineries and sell to other buyers, four sources close to the negotiations said on Wednesday.

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

On Tuesday, Washington announced a deal with Caracas to get access to up to USD 2 billion worth of Venezuelan crude. Venezuela will be “turning over” between 30 million and 50 million barrels of “sanctioned oil” to the US, Trump wrote in a social media post on Tuesday.

The deal initially could require the rerouting of cargoes that were bound for China, sources told Reuters.

Chinese independent refiners that consume much of the country’s Venezuelan imports could switch to Iranian oil to make up the shortfall.

(Reporting by Yuka Obayashi; Editing by Christian Schmollinger)