Muscat: Brent crude futures slipped 13 cents, or 0.2%, to $61.94 a barrel by 0720 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) eased 14 cents, or 0.2%, to $57.87 a barrel. The pullback followed a sharp rally on Monday, when Brent notched its strongest daily gain in two months and WTI recorded its biggest rise since mid-November.

Market sentiment was influenced by comments from President Donald Trump, who said on Monday that the United States may keep or sell Venezuelan crude seized off the country’s coast in recent weeks.

Russia and Ukraine exchanged attacks on key maritime infrastructure, a crucial export route for both nations. Russian forces struck Ukraine’s Black Sea port of Odesa, damaging port facilities and a vessel in the second such attack in under 24 hours. Ukrainian drone strikes, meanwhile, damaged two vessels and two piers in Russia’s Krasnodar region and sparked a fire, according to regional authorities. Kyiv has also intensified attacks on Russia’s maritime logistics, including shadow-fleet oil tankers accused of bypassing sanctions.

Barclays estimates the global oil surplus could narrow to around 700,000 barrels per day by the fourth quarter of 2026, warning that any prolonged disruption could tighten markets and draw down recent inventory builds.