Oil prices rose on Tuesday amid fears that crude production in Venezuela could continue to fall, following a disputed presidential election and possible sanctions on the OPEC member. Global Brent crude was priced at $79.37, up 15 cents from the last closing. Last week, Brent crude climbed above $80 a barrel for the first time since 2014. US benchmark WTI futures rose 25 cents from the last trading session, to reach $72.49 a barrel.
Oil markets experts believe that positive market abuse with the US and China declaring the absence of a trade war between them, as well as political problems in Venezuela, pushed oil prices higher. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro faced a new international condemnation on Monday after being elected for a new term, in a vote that his opponents denounced as a farce that would strengthen the country’s dictatorship. The United States is therefore considering imposing oil sanctions on Venezuela.
Oil markets continued to climb after a US administration official said President Donald Trump signed an executive order yesterday restricting Venezuela’s ability to liquidate state-owned assets. Any sanctions restricting finance, logistics or electricity supplies would further curb Venezuela’s crude output, which fell more than a third in two years, reaching its lowest level in decades. On the other hand, the United States and China, the world’s two largest economies, stepped away from the possibility of entering into a global trade war on Monday, and agreed to hold further talks on boosting US exports to China.
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