- Oil steadied near $58 per barrel after a 1.7% gain on geopolitical concerns in Venezuela
- Venezuelan president's capture by US forces raised short-term oil price risks and boosted shares
- Global oil surplus persists, limiting long-term impact of Venezuela's export disruptions
Oil steadied after the biggest gain in a week as traders weighed the outlook for Venezuela, while concerns about a global glut persisted.
West Texas Intermediate was near $58 a barrel, after closing 1.7% higher in the previous session after the capture of Venezuela's president over the weekend by US forces injected some geopolitical risk into prices. Shares in oil companies jumped on the prospect for a revival of the nation's energy sector.
Still, the broader market is grappling with a swelling surplus and Venezuela only accounts for a small fraction of global output, meaning any disruption to the country's exports is unlikely to have a sustained price impact. The glut has prompted Saudi Arabia to trim crude prices to Asia for a third month.
Hedge funds boosted bullish crude bets to the most since November in the week before the ouster of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. US Energy Secretary Chris Wright plans to talk this week with oil-industry executives about reviving Venezuela's energy sector, according to people familiar with the matter.
Prices
WTI for February delivery dipped 0.2% to $58.18 a barrel at 7:36 a.m. in Singapore.
Brent for March settlement closed 1.7% higher at $61.76 a barrel on Monday.
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