The sharp gain in crude oil prices recorded on Monday was reversed as prices fell 2% a day later in Tuesday’s trading as the market remained unsure how to react to the U.S. capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro during a weekend raid in which no U.S. military personnel lost their lives.
Government officials in Caracas and Washington are discussing exporting Venezuelan crude to refiners in the United States, five government, industry and shipping sources told Reuters on Tuesday, a deal that could divert supplies away from China while helping state company PDVSA avoid deeper output cuts.
A boost in Venezuelan exports could hurt Canadian companies that sell a similar heavy oil, and small Chinese refiners, which would face higher costs if Venezuelan crude diverts to the United States.
While the President is in talks regarding how to handle Venezuelan crude oil, Brent crude, the international standard, fell 1.7% and settled at $60.70 a barrel.
West Texas Intermediate crude, the U.S. benchmark, dropped $.135 from the previous trading day’s close of $58.32 and finished the day at $56.97 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Natural gas dropped again for the second consecutive day. After a nearly 10% tumble on Monday, prices fell more than 3% on Tuesday, settling down $0.119 or 3.38% at $3.404 MMBtu.
Crude oil and natural gas prices weren’t the only energy areas to enter negative territory. So did Oklahoma energy stocks as most recorded declines for the day including a nearly 4% fall for OG&E. At least six companies finished the day with 3% losses.