WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Despite the U.S. softening its earlier aggressive position on Iran, crude oil moved higher on Friday as traders weighed the continuing risks after reports indicated that the U.S. is consolidating its forces in the Middle East.
WTI Crude Oil for February delivery was last seen trading up by $0.40 (or 0.68%) at $59.59 per barrel.
Less than two weeks after the U.S. captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro to put him on trial for narco-terrorism charges in the U.S., U.S. President Donald Trump accelerated steps to control the production, refining, and global distribution of Venezuela's oil.
Last week, Trump met with senior executives of oil majors in the U.S. and Europe to encourage them to invest around $100 billion in Venezuela to repair and rebuild the depleted oil and energy infrastructure in that country. Trump also announced that the interim government in Venezuela agreed to sell 30-50 million barrels of oil to the U.S.
Reportedly, the U.S. has sold its first tranche of crude oil it received from Venezuela, valued at around $500 million.
Energy experts feel that the U.S. could wield its control over Venezuela 'indefinitely.'
Meanwhile, U.S. forces seized another 'sanctioned oil' tanker (Veronica) in the Caribbean Sea yesterday, bringing the number of 'sanctioned ships' captured so far to six.
In the Middle East, major oil producer Iran has been facing pro-democracy protests since December 2025. The uprising started in Tehran and spread to other cities.
After an internet blockade, reports communicated via Starlink to the outside world highlighted that the regime was crushing the protests by arresting the demonstrators in the hundreds and sentencing several to death by hanging.
While Trump's administration threatened to commence a military offensive in Iran to support the civilians, Iran advised its neighbors not to harbor U.S. bases as it would conduct retaliatory attacks on them. Tensions increased and oil prices rose due to the geopolitical risk premium.
However, days ago, Trump suddenly called off the potential strikes, stating that he had reliable reports that 'the killings have stopped' though he warned that the U.S. is monitoring the situation and would step in if necessary.
As Iran controls the critical chokepoint, the Strait of Hormuz, through which around 20 million barrels per day (one-fifth of global production) flows, experts are concerned that in case of a re-escalation, a supply disruption would be inevitable.
With Iran producing approximately 3.2 million barrels per day (around 4% of global crude oil), it could impact production too.
Though the war-threat is currently off the table, oil prices carried some risk element after Fox News reported that at least one U.S. aircraft carrier is moving toward the Middle East.
In Europe, Russia stepped up its attack on Ukraine's power installations, leaving thousands of homes in Ukraine without power and energy this winter.
When asked in an interview about the peace plan proposed by the U.S., Trump stated that while Russia is ready to sign the deal, Ukraine is not. However, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy refuted this, stating Ukraine has 'never been and will never be' a stumbling block to any peace deal.
Yesterday's data from the U.S. revealed that initial jobless claims fell by 9,000 from the previous week to 198,000 for the week ending January 10.
Continuing jobless claims decreased to 1,884,000 for the week ending January 3.
The four-week average of jobless claims decreased to 205,000 on January 10 from 211,500 in the previous week.
Today's data on manufacturing output in the U.S. showed a 0.2% increase month-over-month in December 2025, beating market expectations of a 0.2% drop as well as a 2% increase year-on-year in December 2025, following an upwardly revised 2.2% gain in November.
These figures have pushed back expectations of a rate cut by the U.S. Federal Reserve this month-end.
U.S. dollar index firmed up by 0.10% to 99.42, which limited the gains in crude oil prices.
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