Oil fell about 1% at the start of the working week in Asia today after the US military operation in Venezuela, in which President Nicolas Maduro was captured and taken to New York, Agence France-Presse reported.
The agency notes that markets are assessing the impact of this operation, amid the US's announced intention to seize the South American country's giant crude oil reserves.
After the start of trading in Tokyo, US light crude oil fell to $56.56 per barrel, and the "Brent" variety from the North Sea - to $60. A little later, they recovered some of their losses, with their price rising to $56.98 and $60.45 per barrel, respectively.
Analysts summarized to AFP that at first, the escalation of tensions in Venezuela could disrupt oil supplies, but in the long term it could stabilize the market, especially since exports from the South American country have been declining for years due to the poor state of infrastructure and it will take major investments and years to reverse this trend. According to the cited experts, the main problem on world markets remains oversupply.