- Oil trades lower the US eases Venezuela sanctions and bolsters Middle East diplomacy
- November ’23 WTI lost 14c this morning to trade around $86.52/Bbl
- Prompt-month Brent and WTI fell over $1 yesterday, influenced by diplomatic talks concerning the Israel-Hamas conflict and reports of the US reaching a deal to ease sanctions on Venezuela
- President Biden is set to visit Israel on Wednesday as the nation prepares for a potential ground offensive into Gaza
- The ripple effect of the ongoing conflict hits crude freight costs, as freight rates on 16 global trade routes rose by an average of over 50% this week (Bloomberg)
- Additionally, Russia's oil exports are increasing, with seaborne exports rising by 0.26 MMBbl/d for the week ending Oct 15 to reach 3.51 MMBbl/d (Bloomberg)
- U.S. reaches deal to ease sanctions on Venezuela (Bloomberg)
- Venezuela and the US are expected to sign a deal on Tuesday permitting previously banned opposition candidates to participate in the 2024 Venezuelan presidential elections
- Sanction relief from the US will be initiated after the pact between Maduro's administration and the opposition is finalized
- In September, Venezuela exported 8.1 MMBbl/d, and the sanctions relief could ease some restrictions to allow exports to reach 1.1 MMBbl/d