Oil prices steady after 2025 slump, as silver extends record run
By Benjamin Chiou
Date: Friday 02 Jan 2026
(Sharecast News) - Oil prices were trading more or less flat to start the new year on Friday after posting their biggest annual loss in five years in 2025, while silver extended its recent bullish run.
Brent crude was down 0.4% at $60.68 a barrel, while WTI crude was 0.4% lower at $57.24/bbl.
Brent had dropped below the $60-a-barrel mark for the first time in nearly five years in December, as hopes of a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine eased geopolitical tensions but raised worries about oversupply, particularly if sanctions on Russian oil exports are lessened.
Oil had dropped by nearly a fifth last year, marking its third annual loss and the biggest slump since 2020 as oversupply in key producing regions outweighed geopolitical concerns.
Meanwhile, silver was up 4.8% at $74.02 an ounce on Friday morning, after having rocketed 148% in 2025 to new record highs. Gold futures on Comex were up 1.4% at $4,402.90 an ounce, trading close to its recent record highs.
Elsewhere, copper prices were 0.9% higher at $573.45 a pound, while spot platinum jumped 3.1% to $2,126.06/oz.
Email this article to a friend
or share it with one of these popular networks:
You are here: news
10 Lower Thames St,
London EC3R 6EN