Oil Futures Open Year Lower on Oversupply Concerns

0913 ET – Oil futures are lower to start the year with concerns about oversupply partially contained by geopolitical risks. “Crude oil prices are eyeing 2026 from a bearish bias lens, pressured by supply-glut risks and the dominance of a 2-year downtrend extending from the highs of September 2023,” Forex.com market analyst Razan Hilal says in a note. While OPEC is expected to hold output levels in 1Q, seeing balanced supply and demand, the IEA projects a surplus near 4 million barrels per day this year, she adds. “Geopolitics remains a consistently uncertain element between sanction escalations, tariffs, and peace-deal supply risks.” WTI is down 1.1% at $56.81 a barrel, and Brent is off 1% at $60.23.(anthony.harrup@wsj.com)

Oil Steady as Supply Glut Offsets Gulf Tensions

0915 GMT – Oil is steady as prices hold around three-month averages. Brent crude is down 0.05% at $60.80 a barrel, while WTI is also down 0.05% at $57.37 a barrel. Escalating tensions between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates adds to geopolitical risk premium, as the states’ respective proxies clash in Yemen. The recent dispute centered around a strike on a Yemeni port that serves as the gateway to the country’s oil region. Supply gluts pushed oil to its sharpest annual loss since 2020, with Brent falling 18% in 2025. (josephmichael.stonor@wsj.com)