Oil Prices Hold Steady Despite Shock Arrest of Venezuela’s President

OilPrice · Charles Kennedy · last updated January 4, 2026 – 6:44 PM

Oil prices were flat in early Asian trading on Monday as markets digested the dramatic capture of Venezuela’s President, Nicolás Maduro, by the U.S. military. Against the backdrop of an oversupplied crude market and steady OPEC+ policy, traders appeared content to await tangible physical developments in the market rather than bet on a short term supply shock or the longer-term return of Venezuelan crude to markets. At the time of writing, West Texas Intermediate futures were down 0.21% at $57.20 after climbing to $57.69 at the start of the…

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