Jan 23, 2026 (MarketLine via COMTEX) --
Crude oil prices increased overall during the week due to a resurgence in tensions between the US and Iran. Prices were also buoyed by an oil production outage in Kazakhstan and promising economic growth in China. Besides, Russia reported a decline in its crude oil production for 2025 on a yearly basis, lending additional support to oil prices. However, prevailing tensions over the control of Greenland and the threat of additional US tariffs on select European countries limited the upside to oil prices during the week.
Some key factors that led to changes in crude oil prices this week are as follows:
Oil prices rose on Tuesday and Wednesday, supported by a disruption in crude oil production from two major oilfields in Kazakhstan, namely Tengiz and Korolev, due to the failure of its power distribution systems. Prices were also buoyed by China’s GDP growth of 5% for 2025, which was higher than most industry estimates. However, the rise in prices was somewhat curtailed by prospects of the US imposing tariffs on certain countries from Europe amid geopolitical tensions over the control of Greenland.Oil prices fell on Thursday, weighed down by prospects of talks advancing over a peace deal in the Ukraine conflict, which could see a potential rollback of sanctions on Russia. Ukrainian President Zelenskiy stated that one of his major demands on security guarantees was addressed after meeting the US President Trump. Prices were also weighed down by alleviating US-Europe tensions over Greenland. This was after the US announced that a framework on territorial access within Greenland was agreed upon that could pave the way for long-term deal in the near future. Moreover, prices were also weighed down by a weekly build in the US crude inventory. As per the Energy Information Administration (EIA), crude stockpiles in the country grew by 3.6 million barrels for the week ending on January 19, 2026.Oil prices gained on Friday, supported by simmering tensions in the Persian Gulf amid the gradual movement of US warships towards the region. The US President Trump spoke about preventing any restart of Iran’s nuclear development and reiterated the safety of protestors in the country. The US also imposed new sanctions on tankers and entities transporting Iranian crude oil and refined fuels. Prices also received support from a slight annual dip in crude oil production from Russia last year, even when the OPEC+ was rolling back its production cuts. As per the government data, Russian output was down 0.8% year-on-year in 2025 at 10.28 million barrels per day (bpd).
http://www.datamonitor.com
Republication or redistribution, including by framing or similar means,
is expressly prohibited without prior written consent. Datamonitor shall
not be liable for errors or delays in the content, or for any actions
taken in reliance thereon
COMTEX_472604935/2227/2026-01-30T02:20:11
Copyright (C) 2026 Datamonitor. All rights reserved
