Oil climbed $1 as traders weigh Venezuela developments and wider geopolitical risks
Both benchmarks swung sharply during the session, falling more than $1 earlier before rebounding in late morning trade as investors assessed the implications of the developments in Venezuela
Oil prices settled about $1/barrel higher on Monday as traders weighed potential disruptions to crude flows from Venezuela following reports of the capture of President Nicolas Maduro, injecting fresh geopolitical risk into the market.
Brent crude settled up $1.01, or 1.66%, at $61.76 a barrel.
WTI rose $1, or 1.74%, to $58.32.
Both benchmarks swung sharply during the session, falling more than $1 earlier before rebounding in late morning trade as investors assessed the implications of the developments in Venezuela, an OPEC member with the world’s largest proven oil reserves whose crude exports remain under a US embargo.
Market volatility was compounded by comments from US President Donald Trump, who raised the possibility of further US interventions, including warnings that Colombia and Mexico could face military action if they failed to curb illicit drug flows.
“With the latest headlines, the risk premium has clearly shifted toward geopolitics,” one analyst said. Capping gains, however, the OPEC+ agreed on Sunday to maintain current output levels, reinforcing supply discipline but offering little immediate relief from broader uncertainty over global crude flows.
Written by: Farid Muzaffar