Oil Prices End the Week Lower as Oversupply Dominates Trade
Brent crude settled Friday at $61.12 a barrel, also down 16 cents. Thursday’s 1.5% slide across both benchmarks set the tone for the week, as traders continued to price in excess supply rather than focusing on demand recovery stories.
According to Andrew Lipow of Lipow Oil Associates, crude prices remain weighed down by supply conditions. That view appears to be widely shared, with traders showing little urgency to buy dips while surplus expectations remain firmly in place.
Venezuela Tensions Fail to Spark Buying Interest
Geopolitical risk briefly entered the picture after the U.S. seized a sanctioned oil tanker near Venezuela. President Donald Trump said the move was part of broader enforcement efforts, and sources indicated additional vessels could be targeted.
Despite the headlines, the market reaction was muted. Traders largely brushed off the development, citing ample global supply and limited immediate impact on physical flows. The lack of follow-through buying confirmed that geopolitical events alone are not enough to shift sentiment in the current environment.
Conflicting Supply Outlooks Add to Bearish Tone
Fresh data from major agencies added fuel to the downside bias. The International Energy Agency forecast global oil supply exceeding demand by 3.84 million barrels per day next year, roughly 4% of global consumption. That projection reinforced concerns that the market is heading into a prolonged surplus.
OPEC offered a more balanced outlook, suggesting global supply and demand could be closely aligned in 2026. Retail traders, however, appear to be siding with the IEA’s nearer-term numbers, keeping pressure on prices.
