Brent Crude prices rose over 15% in January to $61.40/bbl, following OPEC+ production cuts coming into place and strong Russian compliance with the agreement.

GBP made gains vs USD throughout the month, reaching a high of 1.317. However, the EU’s refusal to re-open Brexit negotiations saw the pair drop off by month-end.

US placed sanctions on Venezuela’s PdV, blocking exports of crude to the US (currently 500kbpd) and diluent imports from the US to dilute Venezuela’s heavy crude.