RoydadNaft –  Brent crude futures rose 43 cents, or 0.70%, to $61.71 per barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures also gained 43 cents, or 0.75%, settling at $58.03 per barrel.

Oil prices edged higher on Friday amid fears of potential supply disruptions from Venezuela, though benchmarks remain on track for a weekly drop of more than 3% as traders balance hopes for a Russia-Ukraine peace deal against persistent surplus forecasts.

The rebound followed the U.S. seizure of a tanker loaded with Venezuelan crude earlier this week, escalating tensions with President Nicolas Maduro’s regime. Sources told Reuters that Washington is preparing to intercept additional vessels off Venezuela’s coast, raising alarms over broader export curbs from the OPEC member.

“After offloading positions on bets that supply pressures would ease amid Russia-Ukraine peace hopes, buyers jumped in to curb losses following the Venezuelan tanker seizure,” said Hiroyuki Kikukawa, chief strategist at Nissan Securities Investment. He warned that WTI could slide toward $55 if substantive peace talks gain traction next week.

Both Brent and WTI benchmarks fell about 1.5% on Thursday, prolonging a weekly downtrend driven by risk-averse sentiment and a murky oil market outlook, according to ANZ Research. The Federal Reserve’s recent rate cut and Chair Jerome Powell’s unexpectedly dovish remarks have clouded expectations for future U.S. monetary policy.

The International Energy Agency’s latest report estimates a 2026 supply surplus of 3.84 million barrels per day (bpd)—down from November’s 4.09 million bpd projection—while OPEC data points to a near balance between supply and demand, clashing with glut warnings from other forecasters.

Last week’s U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) figures revealed a smaller-than-expected draw in crude inventories alongside sharp builds in fuel stocks, further weighing on sentiment.

On the geopolitical front, leaders from Britain, France, and Germany held a call with U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday to endorse Washington’s renewed peace initiatives in Ukraine, describing it as a “critical moment.” Tensions flared Thursday, however, as Ukrainian drones struck a Lukoil oil platform in the Caspian Sea for the first time, halting production at the Russian company’s facility, according to Ukraine’s Security Service.

With markets watching next week’s negotiations closely, this tentative recovery highlights oil’s precarious balance between supply risks and demand uncertainties.