WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Crude oil edged higher on Tuesday with renewed risk premium arising due to the U.S.-Venezuela and Russia-Ukraine conflicts.
WTI Crude Oil for February delivery was last seen trading up by $0.37 (or 0.64%) at $58.38 per barrel.
After designating the regime of Nicolas Maduro in Venezuela as a 'foreign terrorist organization,' indulging in illegal narco-trafficking, causing an opioid crisis in the U.S., U.S. President Donald Trump ordered a naval blockade offshore Venezuela to all 'sanctioned vessels' entering and exiting Venezuelan port.
The U.S. military has already seized two vessels off Venezuelan coast with the U.S. Coast Guard heading to hold another one.
Trump has announced that the U.S. will either keep the oil in the tankers to replenish its strategic reserves or sell it on the market. Trump added that the U.S. would keep the seized ships.
Maduro has counter-accused Trump of attempting to exploit the rich oil reserves of Venezuela by force and called for U.N. intervention.
China, which is the largest buyer of Venezuelan oil, has condemned the aggressive actions by the U.S.
After Ukraine hit a Tamanneftegaz oil terminal in Russia's Krasnodar region, yesterday Russian forces attacked Ukraine's Black Sea port of Odesa, damaging the port facilities and a ship.
The strike damaged energy infrastructure, disrupting power supply to around 120,000 people in the region.
Trump's 20-point peace plan to end the Russia-Ukraine war has so far not yielded a breakthrough despite a series of talks by U.S. negotiators separately with Russia and Ukraine.
On Sunday, both the U.S. and Ukrainian sides jointly called their weekend meeting 'productive and constructive.' However, discarding the optimism expressed by the U.S. aside, investors are seeking a clear indication of a ceasefire announcement.
The peace agreement is stalled by the delay in a settlement on 'territorial concessions' by both the warring nations.
Mazhar Mohammed Saleh, Financial Advisor to the Prime Minister of Iraq, has announced that Iraq is planning to hike its oil production quota within the OPEC+ alliance by up to 300,000 barrels per day, which would generate up to $10 billion additional annual revenue and meet their budgetary shortfall.
The increase is expected to be gradual, ramping up from an initial 150,000 to 300,000 bpd later. Currently, Iraq produces an average of 4.4 million bpd.
On the data front, in the U.S., data released by the Commerce Department revealed that the economy expanded at a 4.3% annualized pace in the third-quarter 2025, well above the predicted 3.2% estimate. This report scheduled for October 30 was delayed due to the government shutdown.
The surprising upside in growth has led investors to revisit their expectations for future interest rate cuts in the coming year.
The U.S. dollar index was last seen trading at 97.95, down by 0.33 (or 0.34%) today.
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