Oil prices pulled back despite rising geopolitical tensions, as market focus shifts to oversupply risks with Saudi price cuts expected and global output set to exceed demand.
Crude oil edged lower in early Asian trading. Prices fluctuated at low levels, driven by the interplay between fundamentals and macroeconomic and geopolitical factors, Nanhua Futures said.
Oil prices retreated a touch early on Tuesday after rising more than 2% in the previous session, partly driven by spillover from a pullback in precious metals even as escalating Russia–Ukraine tensions left markets grappling with supply disruption fears.
U.S. crude oil inventories rose by 400,000 in the week ended Dec. 19. Analysts had predicted stockpiles would fall by 2.6 million barrels.
One of the items in the consumer price index that has regularly fallen for almost two years is the price of fuel, particularly gasoline.
Saudi Arabia, the world's biggest oil exporter, is expected to lower the February price for its flagship Arab Light crude for Asian buyers for a third month, mirroring declines in the spot market due to ample supplies, sources said.
WTI oil stabilizes near $57 while natural gas stalls below $4.00, with supply surplus risks limiting upside despite demand optimism.
Oil was higher in early Asian trading as tensions between the U.S. and Venezuela escalate, according to Nanhua Futures analysts.
Crude oil edged higher in thin holiday trade, but bearish charts and oversupply forecasts keep the broader oil outlook tilted lower.
Neither investors nor industrial buyers can get enough of the precious metal, while a glut of crude has swamped energy markets and depressed fuel prices.
'Fast Money' trader Katie Stockton talks technical indicators she is seeing in the crude oil markets right now.
Oil prices dropped sharply in 2025 and traded near the $55 support zone, where oversupply, peaking U.S. production, soft demand, and bearish technical patterns suggest further downside into 2026.