WTI stays near $98.00 as US permits trade with Venezuela’s state oil firm

West Texas Intermediate (WTI) oil price loses ground after two days of gains, trading around $97.80 per barrel during the Asian hours on Thursday. However, Crude oil prices eased as supply concerns softened after the United States (US) allowed companies to engage in limited business with Venezuela’s state-owned oil and gas firm following a partial easing of sanctions by the Treasury Department.

Additionally, the White House said President Donald Trump would grant a 60-day waiver of Jones Act requirements, allowing goods shipped between US ports to move on non-US-flagged vessels, in a bid to improve domestic fuel distribution.

Further easing supply worries, crude exports from Iraq’s Kirkuk fields to Turkey’s Ceyhan port have resumed via pipeline after Baghdad and the Kurdistan Regional Government reached an agreement to restart flows earlier this week.

However, oil prices could regain traction as geopolitical risk premiums remain elevated. Fresh attacks on key energy infrastructure in the Middle East have heightened fears of disruptions to global oil and gas supplies. Iran launched missile strikes on a Qatari site hosting the world’s largest LNG export facility, marking a significant escalation following an Israeli attack on Iran’s South Pars gas field. US President Donald Trump said he had prior knowledge of the Israeli strike but urged restraint against further attacks on Iranian energy assets.

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia reported that it had thwarted an attempted attack on one of its gas facilities. Officials said four residents were injured by falling shrapnel in Riyadh, while missiles intercepted in the UAE were reportedly targeting a gas facility and an oil field, underscoring the widening regional risks to energy infrastructure.