Oil Edges Up on Venezuela, Still Posts Monthly Loss


   
Barani Krishnan
DTN Refined Fuels Market Reporter

   SECAUCUS, NJ (DTN) -- Oil futures settled modestly higher Friday (10/31) on 
market talk of a potential U.S. strike on Venezuela that President Donald Trump 
denied.

   The market still finished down for October to post a third consecutive 
monthly loss, following concerns about record U.S. oil production and rising 
OPEC output.

   The NYMEX WTI contract for December delivery settled up $0.41, or 0.7%, at 
$60.98 bbl.

   ICE Brent for December delivery climbed $0.07, or 0.1%, to $65.07 bbl.

   For the month, WTI was down 2.7%, following a 2.6% slide in September and 
7.6% in August. Brent showed a loss of 4.3% for October, after prior monthly 
declines of 1.6% and 6.1%.

   Downstream, the front-month ULSD futures eased by $0.0288 to $2.4312 gallon 
while November RBOB gasoline futures slipped $0.0103 to $1.9931 gallon.

   The U.S. Dollar Index rose 0.282 points to 99.63 against a basket of foreign 
currencies.

   Traders said oil futures ran higher Friday on talk that the U.S. might 
strike at military sites in Venezuela to pave the way for the elected 
government in the Latin America to take power.

   The speculation of such a strike "raises significant risks for oil markets, 
particularly diesel, as supplies are already low and Venezuelan heavy oil is an 
important source," Phil Flynn, analyst at Chicago's Price Futures Group, said 
in a note.

   President Trump, however, when asked by reporters, ruled out that he was 
mulling a strike on Venezuela.

   Trump has imposed sanctions on Venezuela's Maduro government since his 
previous term of office, in recognition of opposition leader Juan Guaido as the 
country's legitimate leader since 2019. The president has repeatedly said "all 
options are on the table" for a solution to the crisis in Caracas.

   Oil futures have been under pressure since August due to growing output, 
with Brent pricing down 16% on the year. An OPEC meeting scheduled for this 
weekend could potentially agree to another round of production hikes.

   In third-quarter earnings, oil majors ExxonMobil and Chevron both cited weak 
crude prices for reduced income. ExxonMobil said net profit fell 12% from a 
year ago, while Chevron reported a 21% year-on-year drop in earnings.

    




(c) Copyright 2025 DTN, LLC. All rights reserved.