WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Oil prices climbed higher on Thursday as the U.S. government's decision to revoke Chevron Corporation's license to operate in Venezuela raised supply concerns.
Oil prices were also supported by reports that OPEC+ is debating whether to raise oil output in April as planned or freeze it as its members struggle to read the global supply picture because of fresh U.S. sanctions on Venezuela, Iran and Russia.
The potential impact of proposed tariffs by U.S. on imports from several countries raised concerns about global economic growth.
Donald Trump threatened to slap 25% tariff on imports from the European Union, and also indicated that the effective date of the levies on imports from Mexico and Canada could be pushed back from March 4th to April 2nd, the same day he purportedly plans to announce reciprocal tariffs on other U.S. trade partners.
West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for April closed higher by $1.73 or about 2.52% at $70.35 a barrel.
Brent crude futures settled at $74.04 a barrel, gaining $1.51 or about 2.1%.
U.S. President Donald Trump said that he was revoking a license given to Chevron Corporation by the previous Joe Biden administration in return for the release of detained Americans and a promise by Nicolas Maduro, President of Venezuela, to allow fair elections.
'We are hereby reversing the concessions that Crooked Joe Biden gave to Nicolas Maduro,' Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. He has accused Maduro of failing to live up to promises as pledged to a U.S. envoy.
With the license revoked, Chevron will no longer be permitted to export Venezuelan crude.
Chevron exports about 240,000 barrels per day (bpd) of crude from its Venezuela operations, more than a quarter of the country's entire oil output.
Copyright(c) 2025 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX
© 2025 AFX News
