MW Oil prices boosted after Trump moves to end Venezuela crude deal

By William Watts

Oil futures rose Thursday morning, finding support a day after President Trump said he was revoking a license issued by the Biden administration that had allowed Chevron to produce oil in Venezuela.

Price moves

-- West Texas Intermediate crude CL00 for April delivery CL.1 CLJ25 rose 73 cents, or 1.1%, to $69.35 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

-- April Brent crude BRNJ25, the global benchmark, was up 79 cents, or 1.1%, at $73.32 a barrel on ICE Futures Europe. The more actively traded May contract BRN00 BRNK25 gained 76 cents, or 1%, to $73.29 a barrel.

Market drivers

On Wednesday, Trump said he would revoke a license granted to Chevron Corp. $(CVX)$ in 2022 to operate in Venezuela and, despite sanctions, export crude to the U.S. The U.S. has imported around 270,000 barrels a day of Venezuelan crude so far this year, analysts at ING noted.

WTI and Brent settled Wednesday at their lowest marks since Dec. 10, with recent pressure tied to worries that proposed tariffs by the Trump administration will undercut global growth. Prospects of a deal to halt the Russia-Ukraine war, which could result in an easing of sanctions on Russian crude exports, weighed on prices as well.

The U.S. and Ukraine were expected this week to sign a deal on minerals.

See: The 3 biggest things to know about a potential U.S.-Ukraine minerals deal

-William Watts

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February 27, 2025 07:07 ET (12:07 GMT)

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