Oil Rises as OPEC+ Pauses Hikes Amid Supply Risk Woes


   
Karim Bastati
DTN Analyst

   VIENNA (DTN) -- Oil prices rose Monday (12/1) morning after the Organization 
of Petroleum Exporting Countries and their partners on Sunday agreed to keep 
oil output steady in the first quarter of 2026, and an attack on export 
terminals halted loadings of Kazakh crude oil.

   The NYMEX WTI contract for January delivery advanced $0.59 bbl to $59.14 
bbl, and ICE Brent for February delivery rose by $0.58 to $62.96 bbl.

   January RBOB gasoline futures advanced $0.0268 to $1.8483 gallon, and 
front-month ULSD futures rose $0.0373 to $2.3404 gallon.

   The U.S. Dollar Index softened by 0.323 points to 99.085 against a basket of 
foreign currencies.

   OPEC+'s move was widely expected. While the producer group justified the 
pause in further output hikes with seasonally weaker demand, it was also 
interpreted as an acknowledgment of the global market slipping into and staying 
in oversupply throughout next year.

   Meanwhile, a pipeline transporting Kazakh crude oil to Black Sea terminals 
was halted Saturday after an attack damaged a mooring at the Russian port of 
Novorossiysk. This marked the first time CPC exports, averaging 1.6 million 
bpd, were affected by Ukrainian strikes on Russian energy infrastructure. 
Loadings have resumed late Sunday at one of the two undamaged moorings. Ukraine 
over the weekend also reported to have struck another Russian refinery.

   Ukrainian and U.S. officials reported "progress" in negotiations that took 
place over the weekend, but reemphasized that some key issues have yet to be 
resolved.

   Increasing U.S. pressure on oil exporter Venezuela provided additional 
tailwind to prices. U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday declared Venezuelan 
airspace "closed in its entirety" in a social media post. On Thursday, Trump 
said that the U.S. would start military land operations "very soon".




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