- Oil prices held gains amid US-Venezuela tensions and Black Sea export terminal damage
- West Texas Intermediate stayed above $59 a barrel after a 1.3% rise in the prior session
- Brent crude closed near $63, rising 1.3% following concerns over geopolitical risks
Oil held a gain as the market watched for US President Donald Trump's next steps on Venezuela, and assessed the fallout from damage to a crude export terminal in the Black Sea.
West Texas Intermediate was steady above $59 a barrel after advancing 1.3% in the previous session. Brent closed near $63. Trump held a meeting on Venezuela on Monday evening, as US forces mass near the region and the president amps up his rhetoric against Nicolas Maduro's government.
Simmering tensions are keeping the market on edge and injecting some risk premium into prices, partially offsetting concerns over a swelling surplus. The geopolitical threats extends to Russia and the Black Sea, where Ukraine has carried out sustained strikes on its aggressor's energy facilities.
That includes an attack on a mooring at the Caspian Pipeline Consortium terminal in the Black Sea, the single-largest outlet for crude exports from Kazakhstan. CPC said “any further operations are impossible” at the mooring, in response to questions about the damage.
Prices
WTI for January delivery gained 0.4% to $59.57 a barrel at 7:39 a.m. in Singapore.
Brent for February settlement closed 1.3% higher at $63.17 a barrel on Monday.
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