Oil prices steady as US sanctions Venezuela and the economy remains gloomy
London — Oil prices held steady on Wednesday, boosted by concerns about supply disruptions following US sanctions on Venezuela’s oil industry but pegged back by a bleak outlook for the global economy. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $53.34 a barrel at 9.50am GMT, up 3c or 0.06%. International Brent crude oil futures were at $61.45 a barrel, up 13c or 0.21%. Washington announced export sanctions against state-owned oil producer PDVSA on Monday, limiting transactions between US companies that do business with the firm. “The sanctions so far have been mostly disruptive for refiners on the US Gulf Coast, who are being forced to seek alternative heavy crude supplies, and have stepped up purchases from Canada,” said Vandana Hari of energy consultancy Vanda Insights. The sanctions aim to freeze sale proceeds from PDVSA’s exports of roughly 500,000 barrels per day (bpd) of crude to the US. World oil futures rose by more than 2% on Tuesday, but the market has not seen ...
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