Oil Prices Hold Steady Amid Mounting Geopolitical Supply Risks

PUKMEDIA

Oil prices.

Oil prices held firm in early trading on Tuesday, 2 December 2025, as traders assessed the impact of Ukrainian drone strikes on Russian energy infrastructure, rising tensions between the United States and Venezuela, and uncertainty over U.S. fuel inventory data.

According to Reuters, Brent crude futures edged up by 7 cents, or 0.1%, to $63.24 a barrel at 04:27 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose 10 cents, or 0.2%, to $59.42 a barrel. Both benchmarks gained more than 1% in the previous session, with WTI hovering near a two-week high.

On Monday, the Caspian Pipeline Consortium confirmed that it had resumed shipments from one mooring point at its Black Sea terminal following a major Ukrainian drone attack on 29 November. According to reporting by Russia’s Kommersant newspaper, exports have restarted via single point mooring 1 (SPM-1), while SPM-2 remains out of operation due to damage.

On the diplomatic front, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Monday that Kyiv’s priorities remained the preservation of sovereignty and robust security guarantees, though territorial issues continued to be the most challenging aspect of negotiations. U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff is due to brief the Kremlin on Tuesday.

U.S. President Donald Trump held discussions with senior advisers regarding Washington’s pressure campaign on Caracas. On Saturday, he declared that airspace “above and surrounding Venezuela” should be considered “closed in its entirety”. No further details have been provided. Meanwhile, Ukrainian naval drones struck two sanctioned tankers in the Black Sea en route to a Russian port to load oil for export.

On Sunday, OPEC+ confirmed a modest increase in output for December but announced a pause on further production hikes in the first quarter of next year due to concerns about a looming supply glut. “The OPEC+ language on supply management and discipline in the near term remains supportive for oil prices,” Sarkar said.



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