By Ed Ballard
Oil futures wobbled on Monday after the U.S. ousted President Nicolás Maduro of Venezuela, a major crude-producing country.
One reason for the muted move is that the market is awash with enough crude to absorb potential short-term supply disruption. That is partly due to efforts by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies to control prices by curbing production.
OPEC+'s strategy may have emboldened President Trump to take aggressive action against oil-producing countries, says Daniel Sternoff, a researcher at Columbia University's Center on Global Energy Policy.
"It is an open question whether Trump would have bombed Fordow [in Iran], sanctioned Lukoil and Rosneft, or seized Venezuelan oil cargoes if oil markets were tight and prices were above $90 per barrel," Sternoff said on Sunday.
Yesterday, eight OPEC+ members led by Saudi Arabia said they planned to maintain their pause on output increases.
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
January 05, 2026 07:48 ET (12:48 GMT)
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