Oil prices rebounded after Donald Trump ordered what he described as a “total and complete” blockade of all sanctioned oil tankers entering or leaving Venezuela, injecting fresh geopolitical risk into markets already grappling with demand concerns.
Brent crude rose 1.5% to $59.84 a barrel, paring back sharp losses from Tuesday. Prices had previously fallen on growing optimism that a Russia–Ukraine peace deal could ease sanctions and add to global supply.
Global equity markets were mixed following US jobs data. Although employment growth rebounded more strongly than expected in November after a sharp drop in October, the unemployment rate climbed to 4.6%, its highest level in more than four years.
MSCI’s Asia-Pacific index excluding Japan gained 0.4%, while Japan’s Nikkei edged 0.3% higher.
On Wall Street, stocks mostly finished lower after the rise in unemployment. The S&P 500 slipped 0.2% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.6%. The Nasdaq Composite bucked the trend, rising 0.2% after reports that the exchange plans to seek regulatory approval for round-the-clock trading.
