Crude oil prices rose on Wednesday, boosted by the announcement of donald trump of a “total blockade” of sanctioned oil tankers arriving or leaving Venezuelan ports.
The price of a barrel of Brent from the North Sea, for delivery in February, rose 1.29%, to $59.68.
Its US equivalent, a barrel of West Texas Intermediate (WTI), for delivery in January, rose 1.21%, to $55.94.
“I order a total and complete blockade of all sanctioned oil tankers entering and leaving Venezuela,” the US president wrote on Tuesday on his Truth Social network.
Trump accuses Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro of using oil money to finance “narcoterrorism, human trafficking, murders and kidnappings.”
“This news (…) was enough to straighten out the market,” which had been falling for several days, commented to AFP Robert Yawger, of Mizuho USA, who, however, considers that it is a “short-term” rise.
This measure by Trump has limited reach in the global market, since “Venezuelans only produce around 900,000 barrels of crude oil per day,” says Yawger.
RECOMMENDED VIDEO
