Oil jumped as a confluence of supply disruptions re-enters focus

Oil prices jumped sharply Thursday as a cluster of supply risks re‑entered market focus, propelling benchmarks to their strongest closes in over two weeks amid renewed geopolitical volatility and disruption fears.

Brent crude rose $2.03, or 3.4%, to settle at $61.99 per barrel, its highest close in more than two weeks. 

WTI gained $1.77, or 3.2%, to $57.76. 

Risk appetite tilted on fresh developments in Venezuela, where Washington’s announcement of a roughly $2 billion deal involving Venezuela crude purchases and expanded flows of American goods has injected uncertainty into the nation’s already fragile export picture. Traders are pricing in heightened disruption risk after stepped‑up enforcement against sanctioned vessels and tightened US actions targeting Venezuelan shipments. 

In the Middle East, Iraq approved plans to nationalise operations at the West Qurna 2 oilfield, aiming to shield output from potential disruptions tied to US sanctions on Russian stakeholder Lukoil..

While the broader market continues to anticipate a potential oil surplus later in the year, the confluence of geopolitical flashpoints helped shift sentiment, highlighting how quickly supply-side risks can reassert themselves in an otherwise well-supplied market.

Written by: Farid Muzaffar