US Sanctions Relief for Venezuela Faces Pressure After Opposition Election Result

• US Sanctions Relief for Venezuela Faces Pressure After Opposition Election Result: In a surprise turn of events for US sanctions on Venezuela, the Biden Administration has taken steps to allow oil and gas to flow largely unimpeded by sanctions. The caveat being the acceptance of Maduro to allow opposition leader María Corina Machado to run against him.
• Oil Markets: Oil has retreated from last week high’s driven by fears of a spillover in the Middle East conflict into oil producing nations, such as Iran as well as potential sanctions tightening by the US. Diplomacy and hostage releases have held back the much-feared ground offensive by Israel into Palestine, though the early crude price premium immediately after the Hamas attack remains.
• Gas Markets: European natural gas prices remained volatile over the past week as a mild weather outlook for the coming week and near-full storage levels weighed against supply risks from the conflict in Israel, that has started to affect Egyptian LNG exports. US Natgas has eased back in the past week, amid record high production, while Asian LNG prices are expected to ease back due to lower demand.

MNI Commodity Weekly - US Sanctions Relief for Venezuela Faces Pressure After Opposition Election Result.pdf