Oil prices rise after US inventory draw, Venezuela in focus

Oil prices rose on Thursday after 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 29 cents, or 0.488, to $60.25 a barrel at 07:18 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate crude was at $56.25 a barrel, up 26 cents, or 0.468.

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 $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.