09:01 AM EST, 02/06/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Oil prices rose off a 2025 low early on Thursday after Saudi Arabia raised the price it charges Asian buyers.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil for March delivery was last seen up US$0.38 to US$71.41 per barrel, rising off the lowest since Dec.30, while April Brent crude was up US$0.41 to US$75.02.

Saudi Arabia raised its official selling price by US$2.40 to US$3.90 over the the Argus Sour Crude Index benchmark for March deliveries, and US$3.25 per barrel over Brent prices, according to reports. The hike indicates the kingdom believes oil demand will be strong next month.

However that optimism is countered by higher U.S. inventories. The Energy Information Administration on Wednesday reported commercial oil inventories rose by 8.7-million barrels last week, about five-million barrels above the consensus estimate.

Geopolitical worries as U.S. President Donald Trump threatens to upset global trade flows are also checking prices and adding uncertainty for the market. The new Administration is putting tariffs on imports from China, threatening to impose them on Canada and Mexico, the largest U.S. trading partners, tightening sanctions on Iran while saying two-million Palestinians should leave war-torn Gaza.

"In a Trumpian world, given the ambiguity of geopolitics and the global economy, price spikes will very much become the zeitgeist of 2025 and possibly beyond. Yet, protracted strength is implausible as it would weaken the President's standing and popularity amongst the electorate, whom he pledged to put first during every single day of his administration," PVM Oil Associates noted.