Oil prices gain on US inventory draw, Venezuela in focus

Oil prices gained slightly on Thursday, rebounding from two days of declines, as a larger-than-expected draw in U.S. crude inventories provided some impetus for investors to buy futures while they monitor developments in Venezuela. Brent crude futures climbed 38 cents, or 0.6%, to $60.34 a barrel by 0104 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was at $56.36 a barrel, up 37 cents, or 0.7%. Both benchmarks fell more than 1% for a second day on Wednesday with market participants expecting ample global supply this year, including analysts at Morgan Stanley, who estimate a surplus of as much as 3 million barrels per day in the first half of 2026. The declines led some traders to take an opportunity to buy futures on Thursday, said Mitsuru Muraishi, an analyst at Fujitomi Securities.