Oil prices rose on Monday after the United States intercepted an oil tanker in international waters off the coast of Venezuela over the weekend.
Brent crude futures rose 0.8% to $61.00 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures also climbed 0.8% to $56.99 a barrel.
Officials told Reuters on Sunday that the U.S. Coast Guard was also tracking an oil tanker in international waters near Venezuela, in what could be the second such operation this weekend and the third in less than two weeks, if successful.
Oil price recovery
Tony Sycamore, an analyst at IG, said that the recovery in oil prices was the result of geopolitical developments, starting with US President Donald Trump’s announcement of a “complete and total” blockade on Venezuelan oil tankers subject to sanctions, through subsequent developments there, and up to news of a Ukrainian drone strike targeting a ship belonging to the Russian shadow fleet in the Mediterranean.
Sycamore added: The market is losing hope that the US-mediated Russian-Ukrainian peace talks will reach a lasting agreement anytime soon, noting that these developments help offset persistent concerns about oversupply.
Brent crude and West Texas Intermediate fell by about 1% last week, after dropping by about 4% in the week that began on December 8.
US Special Envoy Steve Wittkopf said on Sunday that talks held over the past three days in Florida between US, European and Ukrainian officials, aimed at ending Russia’s war in Ukraine, focused on unifying positions, adding that those meetings, along with separate talks with Russian negotiators, were productive.
However, a top foreign policy aide to Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Sunday that the amendments made by the Europeans and Ukraine to the US proposals to end the war had not improved the chances of achieving peace.
