{"id":38209,"date":"2026-01-05T14:26:56","date_gmt":"2026-01-05T06:26:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/?p=38209"},"modified":"2026-01-05T14:26:56","modified_gmt":"2026-01-05T06:26:56","slug":"oil-edges-higher-on-u-s-venezuela-tensions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-ca\/analysis\/oil-edges-higher-on-u-s-venezuela-tensions\/","title":{"rendered":"Oil Edges Higher on U.S.\u2013Venezuela Tensions"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" src=\"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2026\/03\/Oil-Edges-Higher-in-US-Venezuela-Politics-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-38210\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Key Points<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>U.S. capture of Venezuelan President Nicol\u00e1s Maduro has lifted WTI prices in the near term<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>OPEC+ keeps oil output steady despite rising geopolitical tensions<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\" \/>\n\n\n\n<p>West Texas Intermediate (<strong>WTI<\/strong>), the U.S. crude oil benchmark, is trading around <strong>$57.30<\/strong> during early Asian hours on Monday. Prices edged higher as<strong> tensions between the United States and Venezuela<\/strong> injected a fresh risk premium into the oil market.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Realizing President Donald Trump\u2019s plan for a US-led revival of Venezuela\u2019s beleaguered oil industry could be a years-long and challenging process costing upwards of $100 billion <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/bybRgmDAdf\">https:\/\/t.co\/bybRgmDAdf<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Bloomberg (@business) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/business\/status\/2007974444468224346?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 5, 2026<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>U.S.\u2013Venezuela Tensions Lift Oil<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>WTI <\/strong>moved higher following reports of a U.S. military operation in Venezuela, including the capture of President Nicol\u00e1s Maduro, which reverberated across global energy markets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This unprecedented development has significantly elevated political and security risks surrounding Venezuelan crude flows, <strong>raising concerns over future supply stability.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Oil prices likely to move higher on Venezuelan turmoil, ample supply to cap gains <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/TufGM9e58e\">https:\/\/t.co\/TufGM9e58e<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/TufGM9e58e\">https:\/\/t.co\/TufGM9e58e<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Reuters (@Reuters) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Reuters\/status\/2007957792645149128?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 4, 2026<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>U.S. <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/Reuters\/status\/2008000530900037978\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" title=\"\">President Donald Trump signalled that further military action<\/a> could follow should Venezuela\u2019s interim leadership fail to comply with U.S. policy demands, adding to market uncertainty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Meanwhile, Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated that Washington would seek to exert leverage over Venezuela\u2019s oil resources without overseeing the country\u2019s day-to-day operations, reinforcing ongoing geopolitical uncertainty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Technical Analysis<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>USOIL (USOUSD) <\/strong>traded higher<strong> to $57.26, <\/strong>rebounding from a<strong> support level at $56.70. <\/strong>Trading volumes remained slightly lower during the Asian session, while volatility is expected to increase as the U.S. market opens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2026\/03\/codeNDVkM2U4OWViZTM3YzJmOGNkMTYxN2I1ZjFlOWY3ZDVfRG9pVXZJZm96YUo2aWVMRjFQRVFsa1pyYm16eTFrMktfVG9rZW46SEpLUmJkZXh4b3EyQnV4MFZYZWxNcHJjZ0piXzE3Njc1OTM5NDE6MTc2NzU5NzU0MV9WNA.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The <strong>next resistance level<\/strong> for USOIL is seen at <strong>$58.50<\/strong>. Prices could <strong>break above this level<\/strong> and potentially establish a <strong>new high for 2026<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The MACD histogram continues to display bullish bars, indicating that buyers remain active. However, traders may prefer to wait for the New York session for clearer momentum. As the signal line remains below the 50 level, a decisive move above 50 would provide stronger confirmation for long positions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Cautious Outlook<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Rising political risks have added upside support, though ample supply keeps sharp rallies in check. Any gains are likely to be gradual yet sustained if tensions continue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Stay alert to developments and monitor inventories and political updates, as markets remain sensitive to sudden news.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Learn more about trading <\/strong><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/energies\/\">Energies<\/a><\/strong><strong> on VT Markets <\/strong><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/Insights\/\">here<\/a><\/strong><strong>.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>WTI prices gained momentum towards $57.30 during Monday\u2019s early Asian session. &#8211; vtmarkets.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":38210,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[5,66],"class_list":["post-38209","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-analysis","tag-commodities","tag-oil"],"acf":{"acf_article_selection_author":""},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38209","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38209"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38209\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/38210"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38209"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38209"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38209"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}