WASHINGTON : Oil markets opened the day steady, with Brent crude slipping 19 cents, or 0.3%, to $62.98 a barrel by 0903 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) dipped 12 cents, or 0.2%, to $20 a barrel. Both benchmarks had gained more than 1% during Monday’s session, with WTI hovering near a two-week high.

Ole Hansen, head of commodity strategy at Saxo Bank, noted that while prompt prices appear contained, a renewed geopolitical risk premium is building amid escalating tensions around the Black Sea and rising uncertainty linked to Venezuela.

The Caspian Pipeline Consortium confirmed on Monday that it resumed crude shipments from one mooring point at its Black Sea terminal, days after a significant Ukrainian drone strike on November 29 disrupted flows. The attack has added fresh volatility to an already sensitive supply chain in the region.

Meanwhile, geopolitical pressure in the Western Hemisphere intensified after U.S. President Donald Trump declared on Saturday that “the airspace above and surrounding Venezuela” should be considered closed, an escalation that injects new uncertainty into the market given Venezuela’s role as a key oil producer.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Kyiv remains firm on defending sovereignty and securing strong security guarantees, stressing that territorial disputes continue to be the toughest hurdle in negotiations. Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and his son-in-law Jared are set to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday in a bid to explore pathways to end the war.

Adding to the cautious sentiment, OPEC+ reaffirmed a modest output increase for December while signalling a pause on further hikes in the first quarter of next year amid concerns of a potential supply glut.