Oil Holds Four-Day Gain With Focus On US Blockade Of Venezuela

Oil was steady after a four-day run of gains as the US continued its blockade of shipments of crude from Venezuela.

West Texas Intermediate traded near $58 a barrel, after rising about 5% over the previous four sessions, while Brent closed near $62. President Donald Trump said the US will keep the oil from the ships it has seized. Venezuelan oil exports represent less than 1% of global supply, but the revenue provides a financial lifeline for Nicolas Maduro’s government.

The US has taken control of two oil tankers and is still in pursuit of a third, as Trump intensifies pressure on Maduro. Still, more than a dozen vessels have loaded oil off coast of the South American nation since Washington ramped up efforts to curb Caracas’ crude revenue

The geopolitical stresses, including the threat of US land strikes against drug operations in Latin America and rising tension in Ukraine, have helped arrest a slide in oil prices that’s been underway since mid-June. WTI is still down by around a fifth this year — and heading for the biggest annual drop since 2020 — as increasing supply outpaces tepid demand.

In the Black Sea meanwhile, operations at one of the Caspian Pipeline Consortium’s moorings - Kazakhstan’s biggest export conduit - remain shut following drone attacks by Ukraine.