Oil prices are rising again: what are the reasons?
2 January 10:06
On the second day of 2026, oil prices began to rise slightly after experiencing the sharpest decline in the last five years in the last months of 2025. Both Brent and US WTI showed growth.
According to "Komersant Ukrainian", this was reported by Reuters.
Thus, as of the morning of January 2, Brent rose to $61.20 per barrel. The US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) rose to $57.76 per barrel. The increase came amid a large-scale price drop that has not been seen since 2020.
In 2025, Brent and WTI fell by almost 20%. Prices went down amid US President Donald Trump’s tariff wars, geopolitical risks, and oversupply in the oil market. However, the current growth may finally end the three-year gradual decline in Brent and WTI prices.
The publication notes that the restrained upward movement of oil prices reflects fluctuations between short-term geopolitical risks and long-term market fundamentals. Among the factors of influence is the meeting of the OPEC oil cartel, which will be held on January 4.
Traders expect that the OPEC meeting will decide to suspend the growth of oil production. Potentially, this will help to balance the supply to the market.
Another factor will be China, which will continue to increase crude oil reserves in the first half of the year. This will provide a lower threshold for oil prices. At the same time, the United States recorded a record increase in oil production, but at the same time, crude oil stocks fell, which could also affect prices.
