The oil price increased slightly the first trading day in 2026. Last year, the courses recorded their most sharp annual decline since 2020, due to Ukrainian drone attacks against Russian oil installations and the American blockade that has weighed on Venezuelan exports.

The price of Brent crude oil has increased by 35 cents Friday to reach $61.20 per barrel at 4:09am GMT, while the American crude oil (West Texas Intermediate) was $57.76 per barrel, up 34 cents.

Russia and Ukraine blamed each other attacks on civilians on New Year's Day, despite the talks overseen by US President Donald Trump aimed at ending a war that has been going on for almost four years.

According to June Goh, analyst senior at Sparta Commodities, “2026 will be an important year for assess OPEC+ decisions in terms of balancing supply.” For her, China would continue to build crude oil inventories in during the first half of the year, which would guarantee a floor price for oil