Oil prices fell slightly Friday, heading for a second consecutive weekly decline. En Background, growing optimism about a possible peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine has alleviated fears related to the disruptions of the global supply, despite the announced tightening of American measures against Venezuelan exports

On international markets, a barrel of North Sea Brent lost 9 cents, or 0.2%, to 59.73 dollars around 04:56 GMT. For its part, American crude West Texas Intermediate (WTI) lost 13 cents, also 0.2%, to $56.02 per barrel. On For the whole week, Brent fell by 2.3%, while WTI fell by 2.5%, confirming a persistent downward trend.

This relaxation of the courses is in great part fuelled by diplomatic signals from Washington. Thursday, the US President Donald Trump considered that the discussions aimed at putting The end of the conflict in Ukraine were “on the verge of achieving something.” These statements come on the eve of meetings scheduled between American and Russian officials, reviving hope for appeasement geopolitics likely to ease tensions on the energy market.

At the same time, investors are watching the evolution of the Venezuelan case. The United States recently announced their intention to block tankers subject to sanctions entering and leaving from Venezuela, a country that represents about 1% of the global supply of oil. In an unprecedented move, the American Coast Guard even boarded a Venezuelan oil tanker last week. However, the immediate impact of this measure remains uncertain, especially since Caracas authorized the departure of two very large unsanctioned tankers bound for China, according to sources close to export operations.

“Uncertainty about the modalities implementation and the optimism linked to a possible peace agreement led by the United States in Ukraine reduce global supply concerns and moderate geopolitical risk premiums”, analyzes Tony Sycamore, analyst at IG. According to several experts, a tightening of sanctions aimed at Russian oil would also represent a much more significant risk for the balance of the market only the blockade of Venezuelan flows.

On the technical side, analysts at Bank of America believe that lower prices could, in the long run, reduce the supply and thus limit a sharper fall. For Tony Sycamore, a rebound above the resistance zone between $56.70 and $56.90 would reinforce the idea that the recent plunge to $54.98 was a” false break”. Conversely, a lasting break below this threshold would relaunch the bearish momentum, with the psychological level of 50 in sight dollars per barrel.

In this context, the oil market remains suspended from geopolitical developments and technical signals, oscillating between diplomatic hopes and uncertainties about the global offer.