Oil prices in the global market on Monday saw a slight increase, as investors continued to assess whether political unrest in OPEC member Venezuela could disrupt oil supplies.
The development came after U.S. President Donald Trump announced the arrest of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
Brent crude futures rose by 17 cents to $60.92 per barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude increased by 11 cents to trade at $57.43 per barrel. Prices had declined in the early session, but later recovered part of those losses.
U.S. President Donald Trump said that Washington would take control of an oil-producing country like Venezuela and that U.S. sanctions on Venezuelan oil would remain fully in place.
However, according to sources familiar with the affairs of Venezuela’s state oil company PDVSA, U.S. actions did not cause any damage to the country’s oil production or refining infrastructure.
Analysts say that due to ample global oil supply, any potential disruption to Venezuelan exports would have a limited impact on prices in the short term. A January 4 report published under the leadership of Goldman Sachs analyst Dan Struyven stated that the possibility of changes in U.S. sanctions policy toward Venezuela presents uncertain but limited short-term risks to oil prices; however, the bank maintained its oil price forecasts for 2026.
