U.S. crude futures rose more than 1% on Wednesday as U.S. President Donald Trump ordered “a total and complete” blockade of all sanctioned oil tankers entering and leaving Venezuela.
U.S. crude futures were up 1.3%, or 72 cents, to trade at $55.99 at 0022 GMT.
Oil prices settled near five-year lows in the previous session on progress in Russia-Ukraine peace talks, as a deal may see western sanctions on Moscow eased, freeing up supply at a time of fragile global demand.
Trump on Tuesday ordered a blockade of all sanctioned oil tankers entering and leaving Venezuela, adding that he now regarded the nation’s rulers as a foreign terrorist organization.
Trump’s comments came a week after the U.S. seized a sanctioned oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela, stepping up a pressure campaign on the government of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, who Trump has blamed for drugs entering the U.S.
(Reporting by Katya Golubkova; Editing by Jacqueline Wong)