(RTTNews) – Despite the US softening its previously hawkish stance on Iran, crude oil rose on Friday as traders weighed continued risks following reports that indicated the US was bolstering its military in the Middle East.
WTI crude oil for February delivery was last seen trading up $0.40 (or 0.68%) at $59.59 a barrel.
Less than two weeks after the US captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro to stand trial in the US on narco-terrorism charges, US President Donald Trump stepped up moves to control the production, refining and global distribution of Venezuelan oil.
Last week, Trump met with senior executives from major oil companies in the US and Europe and encouraged them to invest about $100 billion to repair and rebuild Venezuela’s deteriorated oil and energy infrastructure. Trump also announced that Venezuela’s interim government has agreed to sell 30-50 million barrels of oil to the US.
Reportedly, the US has sold its first tranche of crude oil obtained from Venezuela, worth about $500 million.
Energy experts believe the US could maintain control over Venezuela “indefinitely”.
Meanwhile, US forces seized another “sanctioned oil” tanker (Veronica) in the Caribbean Sea yesterday, bringing the number of “sanctioned vessels” seized so far to six.
In the Middle East, major oil producer Iran faces pro-democracy protests from December 2025. The revolt began in Tehran and spread to other cities.
Following the Internet blockade, reports sent to the outside world via Starlink revealed that the regime was crushing the protests by arresting hundreds of protesters and executing several.
While Trump’s administration threatened to launch a military invasion into Iran to support civilians, Iran advised its neighbors not to shelter American bases as this would lead to retaliatory attacks on them. Tensions increased and oil prices soared due to the geopolitical risk premium.
However, a few days ago, Trump suddenly canceled possible attacks saying he had credible reports that “the killings have stopped” though he warned that the US was monitoring the situation and would take action if necessary.
Since Iran controls the vital chokepoint, the Strait of Hormuz, through which about 20 million barrels per day (one-fifth of global production) flow, experts worry that in the event of a re-escalation of tensions, supply disruptions would be inevitable.
Iran produces about 3.2 million barrels per day (about 4% of global crude), so production may also be affected.
Although the threat of war appears to be over for now, there is some risk element to oil prices after Fox News reported that at least one US aircraft carrier is headed to the Middle East.
In Europe, Russia stepped up its attacks on Ukraine’s power installations, leaving thousands of homes in Ukraine without power and energy this winter.
In an interview, when Trump was asked about the peace plan proposed by the US, he said that Russia is ready to sign the deal, but Ukraine is not. However, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky denied this, saying that Ukraine “has never been and never will be” an obstacle to any peace deal.
US data yesterday showed that initial jobless claims for the week ending January 10 fell by 9,000 from the previous week to 198,000.
Continuous jobless claims fell to 1,884,000 in the week ending January 3.
The four-week average of jobless claims fell to 205,000 on Jan. 10 from 211,500 the previous week.
Today’s data on US manufacturing output showed a 0.2% month-on-month rise in December 2025, beating the market’s expectation of a 0.2% decline, as well as a 2% year-on-year rise in December 2025, following a 2.2% rise in November.
These data have pushed back expectations of a rate cut by the US Federal Reserve later this month.
The US dollar index rose 0.10% to 99.42, limiting gains in crude oil prices.
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