Oil prices rose by about a dollar in Asian trading, today, Thursday, after US President Donald Trump announced the imposition of a blockade on oil tankers entering and leaving Venezuela, thus continuing to disrupt most of the country’s exports.
According to Bloomberg Economics, the price of Brent crude rose 92 cents, or 1.54 percent, to $60.60 per barrel.
The price of US West Texas Intermediate crude increased by 98 cents, or 1.7 percent, to $56.89 per barrel, after initially rising by more than a full dollar.
Venezuelan crude oil represents about one percent of global supplies, and most of it is exported to China, but market sources indicate that weak demand and the abundance of crude oil available on board floating storage units in Asia reduce the impact of the latest developments on the largest oil importer in the world.
Gold prices stabilized, supported by indications that the Federal Reserve (the US central bank) was heading towards monetary easing.
Gold in spot transactions fell 0.2 percent to $4,332.29 per ounce, after rising more than one percent late yesterday, Wednesday, while US gold futures fell 0.2 percent to $4,364.70.
As for other precious metals, silver rose in spot transactions by 0.2 percent to $66.44 per ounce, after recording a record high of $66.88 in the previous session, and has increased 129 percent since the beginning of the year until now, exceeding gold’s gains of 65 percent, with support from strong industrial demand, investor interest, and shrinking inventories.
Platinum increased 3.6 percent to $1,966.0, its highest level in more than 17 years, while palladium rose nearly 1 percent to its highest level in about 3 years at $1,663.0.
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