NEW YORK, Jan 8, 2026, 07:06 (EST) — Premarket
U.S. oil-linked exchange-traded fund United States Oil Fund (USO) fell about 1% in premarket trade on Thursday, while Exxon Mobil was down about 2% and Chevron eased less than 1%.
The early drift matters because crude is trying to steady after a rough two-session slide, and oil equities are heading into earnings season with little cushion if prices wobble again. Washington’s moves around Venezuela and Russia sanctions are landing on top of basic supply-and-demand signals from U.S. inventories.
Brent and U.S. crude benchmarks were higher in Europe. Brent was up 59 cents at $60.55 a barrel by 1038 GMT and WTI gained 58 cents to $56.57, as Trump’s support for a Russia-sanctions bill “raises fears of further disruption to Russian oil exports,” PVM analyst Tamas Varga said. 1
The latest U.S. inventory report offered mixed signals. Crude inventories fell 3.8 million barrels in the week ended Jan. 2, but gasoline stocks rose 7.7 million barrels and distillate stocks jumped 5.6 million; distillates include diesel and heating oil. Oil settled lower on Wednesday, and “crude futures” were “continuing on the defensive” after Venezuela headlines, said Dennis Kissler, senior vice president of trading at BOK Financial. 2
Washington and Caracas reached a deal to export up to $2 billion worth of Venezuelan crude to the United States, Trump said, a move that could divert cargoes from China. The flow is currently controlled by Chevron, which has been exporting about 100,000 to 150,000 barrels per day under a U.S. authorization, Reuters reported. 3
The U.S. also seized two Venezuela-linked tankers in the Atlantic Ocean on Wednesday, including one that had switched to Russia’s flag, U.S. officials said. The White House said it planned to roll back some sanctions on Venezuelan oil, while warning only transport consistent with American law and national security would be allowed. 4
Exxon said in a regulatory filing that lower crude prices could cut fourth-quarter upstream earnings by about $800 million to $1.2 billion; upstream is the company’s oil and gas production business. It also flagged a $300 million to $700 million lift from stronger refining margins and about $200 million in restructuring charges, and Scotiabank analysts said many brokers “have yet to mark to market” their estimates. Exxon is due to report results on Jan. 30. 5
At EOG Resources, finance chief Ann Janssen said oversupply and potentially higher production from Venezuela were pushing oil prices down and could last for several more quarters. She spoke at a Goldman Sachs energy conference as Reuters reported Trump was scheduled to meet major oil-company executives at the White House on Friday. 6
The near-term risk is that the market reads the fuel build as a demand warning and prices slip again even with crude inventories drawing down. A faster return of Venezuelan heavy barrels into the U.S. Gulf would add to that pressure, while a sanctions hit on Russian exports could flip the balance the other way quickly.
