Oil prices held largely steady in Asian trading on Monday as investors weighed the risk of supply disruptions from escalating unrest in Iran against the prospect of additional barrels returning to the market from Venezuela.
As of 22:23 ET (03:23 GMT), Brent Oil Futures expiring in March edged up 0.1% to $63.39 per barrel, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures also gained 0.1% to $59.15 per barrel.
Both contracts advanced over 3% last week, when geopolitical tensions intensified.
Iran deadly protests spark supply disruption risks
Markets have been focused on Iran, a key Middle Eastern producer, where widespread anti-government protests have intensified over recent days.
More than 500 people have been killed in the unrest, according to rights groups.
Iranian officials said U.S. military bases in the region would be targeted if Washington intervenes on behalf of protesters. The threat has heightened fears of a broader regional confrontation that could disrupt energy flows through the Strait of Hormuz, a vital chokepoint for global oil supplies.
U.S. President Donald Trump has taken an increasingly hard line on Iran, saying last week that the U.S. would not stand by if Iranian authorities continued to crack down violently on demonstrators.
"Iran is the fourth-largest OPEC member, producing around 3.2m b/d of crude oil. So, this leaves a fair amount of supply risk hanging over the market," ING analysts said in a note.
Venezuela’s oil export resumption caps gains
However, gains were capped by developments in Venezuela, where Washington signalled it could move to relax restrictions on the country’s oil sector.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said further sanctions against Venezuela could be lifted as early as this week to facilitate oil sales.
Trump also said last week that the government in Caracas was set to turn over as much as 50 million barrels of previously sanctioned oil to the U.S.
Despite the prospect of renewed Venezuelan output, oil majors remain cautious. ExxonMobil (NYSE:XOM) has described Venezuela as “uninvestable” without significant political and legal reforms.
"It may be difficult to see oil companies that previously had assets expropriated by the Venezuelan government re-enter without receiving the compensation they were awarded in international courts," ING analysts added.
Source: Investing