Oil prices rose on Monday as investors weighed fresh uncertainty around the US Federal Reserve (Fed) and developments in Venezuela and Cuba that added to supply-risk concerns.
International benchmark Brent crude traded at $63.15 per barrel at 9.26 a.m. local time (0626 GMT), up 0.6% from last Friday's close of $62.74.
US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) was at $59.04 per barrel, up around 0.7% compared with $58.61 last week.
Prices opened higher over the expectations of Fed interest rate cuts, which weakened the dollar, lending support to commodity prices, while comments by Fed Chair Jerome Powell added to market uncertainty.
Powell said the US Department of Justice had threatened criminal charges related to the renovation of Fed buildings, a move he said was linked to the central bank's monetary policy decisions.
Meanwhile, US actions involving Venezuela and Cuba also lifted oil prices by heightening perceptions of risk to global oil supply.
Markets remain focused on developments in Venezuela after a US military operation on Jan. 3 resulted in the capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro. The operation has raised concerns over potential disruptions to oil production and exports from the South American country.
US President Donald Trump on Sunday posted a picture of himself as the "acting president of Venezuela" on his social media platform Truth Social, days after the operation. Trump said his administration would oversee Venezuela and its oil assets during a transition period.
The US carried out a military operation in Venezuela on Jan. 3, capturing Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores to try them in a New York court over drug- and weapons-related charges. Trump said his administration would run Venezuela and its oil assets during a transition period.
- Trump criticizes ExxonMobil after CEO describes Venezuela as 'uninvestable'
Trump also criticized ExxonMobil after the company's CEO described Venezuela as "uninvestable," suggesting the oil giant could be excluded from future US-backed involvement in the country.
Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump said he was dissatisfied with ExxonMobil CEO Darren Woods' response to calls for US energy companies to invest in Venezuela.
"I didn't like Exxon response," Trump said, referring to Woods' comment during a Friday meeting where the president hosted the executives of several oil and gas companies at the White House to discuss investment opportunities in the South American country.
"I'll probably be inclined to keep Exxon out. I didn't like their response. They're playing too cute."
During the meeting, Trump said the companies would spend at least $100 billion in Venezuela to "very rapidly rebuild (its) dilapidated oil industry."
However, Exxon's Woods said Venezuela was currently "uninvestable," pointing to the company's past experiences of asset seizures. "We've had our assets seized there twice, and so you can imagine to re-enter a third time would require some pretty significant changes from what we've historically seen here," Woods said at the meeting.
Another development adding to regional tensions was Trump's announcement that Cuba would no longer receive oil or financial support from Venezuela.
In a post on his social media platform Truth Social, Trump said that for years the island nation had relied on large amounts of oil and money from Venezuela in return for providing security services to Venezuelan leaders, but said now arrangement has ended.
"There will be no more oil or money going to Cuba - zero!" he wrote. Trump urged Cuba to seek a new deal, warning that it should act "before it is too late."
Cuba's president blamed the US for the country's deep economic hardships, rejecting criticism of Havana and insisting Cuba remains fully sovereign in the face of decades of pressure.
"Those who turn everything into a business, even human lives, have no moral authority to point the finger at Cuba," Miguel Diaz-Canel said on US social media company X, arguing that the island's economic suffering stems from US' "extreme strangulation" policies imposed for more than six decades.
"Cuba is a free, independent, and sovereign nation. No one dictates what we do," he added.
Diaz-Canel said Havana does not threaten others but remains prepared to defend itself "to the last drop of blood" after "it has been attacked by the US for 66 years."
By Handan Kazanci
Anadolu Agency
energy@aa.com.tr
