Oil Rises Again, Market Remains Wary of Iran
Oil prices rose for a second day, as market participants reconsidered geopolitical risks in the Middle East—particularly tensions between the United States and Iran—while overshadowing signs of increasing supply. WTI moved closer to $65/barrel, while Brent held steady around $69/barrel after closing the previous session higher.
Sentiment remains sensitive to headlines in nuclear negotiations. Although US President Donald Trump stated that his primary goal is to reach a deal with Tehran, the market still sees the risk of escalation—including a possible military strike—that could disrupt supply flows from the region. This factor keeps a “risk premium” attached to oil prices.
On the supply side, official US data showed crude oil inventories jumped 8.5 million barrels last week to around 428.8 million barrels, the highest level since June. Such a large increase in inventories typically puts downward pressure on prices, but this time the impact was muted as the market's focus remains heavily on geopolitics.
Market participants are also awaiting the International Energy Agency's (IEA) monthly report, which could further highlight the risks of a global surplus. At the same time, OPEC emphasized that the demand outlook for OPEC+ crude oil is expected to decline in the second quarter, so the "loose supply" narrative remains a barrier to more aggressive increases.
On the production side, OPEC+ reported that alliance output fell in January—down around 439,000 bpd compared to December—partly related to declines in several producing countries. However, the market believes this factor is not enough to allay concerns about oversupply if demand weakens or if production rises again.
In morning trading in Asia, March WTI was recorded around $64.90–$64.97/barrel (up around 0.4%–0.5%), and April Brent held steady after closing at $69.40/barrel. Further movement will still be largely determined by the combination of Iran–US headlines and market readings of stockpiles data and the outlooks of global energy institutions. (asd)
Source: Newsmaker.id
