The China Mail - Oil prices ease as investors track Venezuela fallout

Shares prices of defence companies and gold miners rallied on the new geopolitical risks in the wake of the US invasion, while prospects of more US interest-rate cuts this year and a booming technology sector lent additional support to equity markets.

The dollar traded mixed while gold, seen as a safe haven investment, jumped along with silver.

The prices of Brent North Sea crude oil, an international oil benchmark, and the main US contract WTI were slightly lower after US forces seized Maduro on Saturday.

Leftist strongman Maduro, 63, faces narcotrafficking charges along with his wife, who was also seized and taken out of Caracas in the shock US assault that involved commandos, bombing by jet planes, and a massive naval force off Venezuela's coast.

The oil market, which is currently oversupplied, "will likely absorb this short-term supply uncertainty, with a limited impact on oil prices", said Helge Andre Martinsen, senior energy analyst at DNB Carnegie.

Trump said he wanted to allow American oil companies to head back into Venezuela to tap its massive crude reserves, boosting their share prices in limited trading Monday ahead of the Wall Street open.

Venezuela has the largest proven oil reserves in the world, at around 303 billion barrels, according to OPEC.

But its output is very low because of a lack of investment in the country's infrastructure.

The first full week of business for 2026 will also see the release of key US jobs data that could play a role in the Federal Reserve's decision-making on borrowing costs.

But the stock gains in Asia and Europe on Monday suggest investors are brushing off worries that valuations in the tech sector have become stretched, amid doubts about the timing and size of returns on huge investments in artificial intelligence.

- Key figures at around 1045 GMT -

Brent North Sea Crude: DOWN 0.2 percent at $60.66 per barrel

West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.1 percent at $57.29 per barrel

London - FTSE 100: UP 0.1 percent at 9,963.57 points

Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 0.1 percent at 8,187.54

Frankfurt - DAX: UP 0.6 percent at 24,687.91

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 3.0 percent at 51,832.80 (close)

Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: FLAT at 26,347.24 (close)

Shanghai - Composite: UP 1.4 percent at 4,023.42 (close)

New York - Dow: UP 0.7 percent at 48,382.39 (close)

Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1688 from $1.1720 on Friday

Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3459 from $1.3460

Dollar/yen: DOWN at 156.67 yen from 156.85 yen

Euro/pound: DOWN at 86.85 pence from 87.07 pence

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F.Jackson--ThChM