Dec 05, 2025 (MarketLine via COMTEX) --
Crude oil prices increased overall during the week amid lack of progress in arriving at a ceasefire in the Ukraine conflict. Russian and US representatives met during the week, after which Russia declared that the talks were not fruitful and till more needed to be done to reach an agreement. Prices also received support from a spate of new attacks from Ukraine on ships ferrying commodities from Russia that led to further escalation in the bilateral tensions. However, the upside to oil prices was somewhat curtailed by prospects of crude oil oversupply in 2026 amid steady rise in global output while demand growth remained relatively sluggish.
Some key factors that led to changes in crude oil prices this week are as follows:
Oil prices dipped marginally on Monday, weighed down by concerns over an outlook for surplus crude oil in global markets for 2026. This was multiple factors, including the sustained rise in the US crude oil production, roll back of output cuts from the OPEC+ group and the possibility of the US lifting its sanctions on Russia if its conflict with Ukraine comes to a halt in the coming weeks. These worries were somewhat alleviated after the OPEC+ decided to keep its production target unchanged for January 2026 during its review meet last Sunday. The downside to prices were also contained by elevated risks to oil assets in Europe from Ukrainian drone attacks. The latest strikes involved naval drones and caused damages to two Gambia-flagged oil tankers, Kairos and Virat, in the Black Sea that were allegedly part of Russia’s shadow fleet of vessels. In the past week, Ukraine also targeted a mooring point of the Kazakhstan’s Caspian Pipeline Consortium terminal in the Russian Black Sea port of Novorossiysk. Elsewhere, the US raised speculation over a looming war with Venezuela after declaring the closure of airspace around this country. Oil prices declined on Tuesday, weighed down improved efforts to bring about a ceasefire in the Ukraine conflict. US representatives were set to hold further discussions with Russian President Putin and other members of his government in Moscow over the terms of the peace deal. However, tensions prevailed between Russia and Ukraine amid the recent drone attacks on Russian oil infrastructure, thus limiting the downside to prices. After targeting two oil tankers earlier, Ukraine now struck a Russian vessel carrying sunflower oil in the Black Sea. Besides, Romanian forces neutralized a Ukrainian naval drone off its coastline after assessing it as a threat to its maritime industry. Oil prices rose on Wednesday, supported by signs of delays in reaching a peace deal in the Ukraine conflict. Russia announced that the latest talks with the US envoys did not yield towards any progress in finalizing a mutually acceptable agreement. The country also threatened to take strong action in response to the recent attacks on tankers plying the Black Sea, thereby raising the geopolitical tensions in the region and thus supporting prices. The country also singled out the European Union for introducing certain proposals to the peace framework that could potentially derail the efforts from the US in ending this conflict.Oil prices rose last Thursday and Friday, supported by prospects of crude oil supply disruption from Russia to Hungary and Slovakia through the Druzhba pipeline. The pipeline was targeted by Ukrainian forces in the Tambov region of Russia – the fifth such attack on this critical supply line in 2025. Prices also came under pressure from the lack of progress in the peace talks to end the Ukraine conflict. Discussions among the US and Russian representatives stalled earlier in the week while Ukraine was yet to give a concrete response to President Trump’s peace proposal. Nevertheless, the gains in prices were somewhat contained by a weekly crude and gasoline build in the US. According to the Energy Information Administration (EIA), the US crude stockpiles witnessed a small rise of around 600,000 barrels for the week ending on November 28, 2025. Gasoline inventory, however, grew considerably by 4.5 million barrels during the same week, while distillate stocks were up by 2.1 million barrels.
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COMTEX_471161043/2227/2025-12-16T09:43:13
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