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Oil prices fell on Friday after the Donald Trump administration moved to ease some sanctions on Venezuela’s energy sector, although crude was still on track for hefty monthly gains driven by heightened geopolitical tensions and supply disruption fears.
By 08:55 ET (13:55 GMT), Brent futures for March delivery were down 0.6% at $69.16 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude slipped 0.7% to $64.96 a barrel.
Despite pulling back from near six-month highs, both benchmarks were set to post gains of around 13% for the month. Prices have been buoyed by concerns that escalating tensions in the Middle East, along with a severe winter storm in the United States, could disrupt global oil supplies.
U.S. eases some Venezuela sanctions
The Trump administration said on Thursday it had lifted restrictions on certain transactions involving Venezuela’s state-run oil company PDVSA, a move that allows a U.S. entity to sell and transport Venezuelan oil.
The decision appears aimed at encouraging American companies to invest in Venezuela, a scenario Trump has repeatedly promoted since Washington took control of the country’s energy industry earlier this month.
However, the move stopped short of lifting sanctions on Venezuelan oil production itself. While initial fears had emerged that U.S. actions could rapidly boost Venezuelan output, analysts argue any meaningful production increase will take time due to the country’s ageing infrastructure and political uncertainty following the U.S. seizure of President Nicolas Maduro’s administration.
Iran tensions keep supply risks elevated
Oil prices had climbed strongly earlier in the week as Trump intensified pressure on Iran to curb its nuclear programme, threatening military action and deploying a U.S. naval group to the region.
Washington has already imposed sweeping sanctions on Tehran aimed at cutting off oil revenues, a critical source of funding for the Iranian state. Reuters reported on Thursday that Trump is weighing targeted strikes against senior security officials as part of efforts to weaken Iran’s leadership, further stoking supply disruption fears.
OPEC+ expected to hold output steady
Looking ahead, the OPEC+ is set to meet on Sunday, with recent reports suggesting the group will keep production levels unchanged.
The alliance increased output by roughly 2.9 million barrels per day through 2025, a move that weighed heavily on prices, before pausing monthly increases from January amid concerns over a potential supply glut and softer global demand.
In its latest monthly report, OPEC+ said it expects oil demand to improve in 2026 and 2027, downplaying longer-term concerns about oversupply.
