U.S. crude oil prices were stable on Friday after President Donald Trump told NBC News that he will not rule out war with OPEC member Venezuela.
“I don’t rule it out, no,” Trump told the news outlet in a phone interview. He declined to say whether overthrowing President Nicolas Maduro is his goal.
“He knows exactly what I want,” Trump told NBC. “He knows better than anybody.”
The oil market right now is not indicating a major risk of a supply disruption. U.S. crude oil rose 29 cents, or 0.5%, to $56.44 per barrel, while global benchmark Brent was up 31 cents, or 0.5% to $60.31.
The U.S. benchmark fell to four year lows earlier this week as traders priced in the possibility of a peace agreement in Ukraine that would bring more Russian crude into a well supplied market.
Trump has been ramping up pressure on Maduro. He ordered a blockade of sanctions oil tankers off the South American nation’s coast after seizing a vessel a last week.
The U.S. has staged a major military buildup in the Caribbean and launched deadly strikes on boats that it claims are trafficking drugs to the U.S. The legality of those strikes is disputed and has been the subject of scrutiny by Congress.
Venezuela is a founding member of OPEC and has the largest proven oil reserves in the world. It is exporting about 749,000 barrels per day this year with at least half that oil going to China, according to data from Kpler. Venezuela exports about 132,000 bpd to the U.S., according to Kpler.
