Oil Prices Rise Amid Trade Optimism, Despite Venezuelan Supply Prospects

PUKMEDIA

Oil prices.

Oil prices rose on Friday, 25 July 2025, as renewed optimism surrounding global trade negotiations bolstered the outlook for the world economy and oil demand, outweighing concerns about potential increases in crude supply from Venezuela.

According to Reuters, Brent crude futures reached a one-week high, rising by 20 cents (0.29%) to $69.38 per barrel as of 05:19 GMT. Meanwhile, U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures also climbed 20 cents (0.30%) to $66.23 per barrel.

The oil market, alongside global equities, found support in anticipation of further trade agreements between the United States and key trading partners ahead of a looming 1 August 2025 deadline for the imposition of new U.S. tariffs on goods from multiple countries.

Following the announcement of a U.S.-Japan trade agreement on Wednesday, two European Union diplomats revealed that the EU is moving towards a deal that could involve a baseline U.S. tariff of 15% on EU imports, potentially accompanied by exemptions.

Additionally, sources reported on Thursday that the United States is preparing to allow partners of Venezuela’s state-run oil company, PDVSA—starting with American oil major Chevron—to resume limited operations in the sanctions-hit country.

So far this week, Brent crude has recorded a 0.4% increase, while WTI has declined by 1.4%. Both benchmarks rose by approximately 1% on Thursday, supported by reports of reduced Russian gasoline exports. Temporary disruptions to Kazakh Black Sea oil shipments and loading of Azeri BTC crude at the Turkish port of Ceyhan also contributed to the gains.

Further supporting the market were draws in U.S. crude inventories. Data released by the U.S. Energy Information Administration on Wednesday showed a decline of 3.2 million barrels in crude stocks last week, bringing total inventories to 419 million barrels. This exceeded analysts’ expectations of a 1.6 million barrel draw, as reported in a Reuters poll.

Meanwhile, the energy sector continues to face uncertainty as global green hydrogen developers scale back investments and cancel projects, potentially prolonging global reliance on fossil fuels beyond previously targeted timelines.

Investors will be closely monitoring key economic indicators due next week, including factory activity data from China and U.S. reports on inflation, employment, and inventories.



PUKMEDIA