Oil prices showed little change on Monday after rising more than 2% in the previous session
Concerns about supply, despite production disruptions in major U.S. crude oil-producing regions, prevented benchmark oil prices from rising.
Brent crude futures fell 7 cents, or 0.1%, to $65.81 a barrel at 02:21 GMT. WTI crude traded down 6 cents, or 0.1%, at $61.01 a barrel.
Both benchmark prices closed Friday up 2.7% for the week, reaching their highest levels since January 14.
The aforementioned U.S. military aircraft carrier strike group and other assets are expected to arrive in the Middle East in the coming days, threatening oil supply from major OPEC producer Iran.
Oil prices are expected to be volatile this week due to signs of production disruptions in the U.S. and the ongoing geopolitical risk of a supply surplus in 2026.
The US has lost approximately 250,000 barrels of crude oil per day due to severe weather, including declines in production at the Bakken field in North Dakota and parts of Texas.
Winter storm Fern struck the US coast, halting production at major crude oil and natural gas producing areas and putting extra strain on the power grid, leading to a slight rise in oil markets as the disruptions narrowed physical flows.
Investors are concerned about geopolitical risks as tensions between the US and Iran continue to unsettle them.
The US Navy deployment towards Iran reignited fears of supply disruptions, adding a risk premium to crude oil prices and supporting broader risk-aversion sentiment this morning.
On Friday, a senior Iranian official said Iran would consider any attack against it an all-out war.
Meanwhile, Kazakhstan’s Caspian Pipeline Consortium announced on Sunday that it had returned to full loading capacity at its Black Sea-shore terminal after completing maintenance work at one of its three docking points.
Traders are more concerned with the persistence of the supply surplus than with immediate headlines. Therefore, unless OPEC+ or major producers announce meaningful cuts, the overall oil market outlook points to weak structural fundamentals in 2026.
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