Oil stocks brace for Monday as Bessent hints Venezuela sanctions relief; Chevron, Exxon in focus

Oil prices fell on Wednesday after President Donald Trump said Venezuela would turn over 30 million to 50 million barrels of sanctioned crude to the United States, feeding fears of more supply in an already well-stocked market. Brent crude futures were down 40 cents, or 0.7%, at $60.31 a barrel by 11:05 a.m. ET, after touching $59.88, and U.S. West Texas Intermediate was down 74 cents, or 1.3%, at $56.39 after hitting $55.76; both benchmarks slid more than $1 in the previous session. SEB analyst Ole Hvalbye called the volumes small next to the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve, the emergency stockpile, while Morgan Stanley estimated the market could tip into a surplus of up to 3 million barrels per day in the first half of 2026. Reuters