Oil Maintains Gains as Venezuela, Ukraine Come into Focus

Oil held its recent gains as investors weighed the outlook for a ceasefire in Ukraine and the repercussions of tensions between the US and Venezuela, Bloomberg News reported.

American forces have been massing in the region, adding a risk premium to oil prices and partially offsetting concerns about a supply surplus

Brent crude traded below $63 a barrel after rising 0.4% on Wednesday, while West Texas Intermediate hovered near $59.

US President Donald Trump said a meeting between his envoy and Russian President Vladimir Putin was “reasonably good,” though he acknowledged uncertainty over the prospects for a peace deal.

Separately, Trump reiterated that the US will begin striking drug cartels operating on land in Venezuela “very soon.”

American forces have been massing in the region, adding a risk premium to oil prices and partially offsetting concerns about a supply surplus expected to swell to a record next year, Rian Howlett also reported for Yahoo Finance.