Oil prices fell back Monday while the prices of precious metals surged as markets reacted calmly to the U.S. capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in a weekend raid.
Asian shares rallied on heavy buying of tech-related stocks after modest gains Friday on Wall Street. The future for the S&P 500 was up 0.2% while that for the Dow Jones Industrial Average was virtually unchanged.
In early European trading, Germany’s DAX was up 0.8% at 24,728.94, while the CAC 40 in Paris picked up 0.3% to 8,216.98. Britain’s FTSE 100 edged 0.2% higher, to 9,968.71.
“While the capture of Venezuelan president Maduro by American forces has dominated headlines, financial markets seem unperturbed,” Thomas Mathews of Capital Economics said in a report. “We agree with the implicit view that the near-term economic and financial implications are minor.”
Shortly after trading began Monday, U.S. benchmark crude oil rose slightly. But it later was trading 36 cents lower at $56.96 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, gave up 34 cents to $60.41 per barrel.
After years of neglect and international sanctions, Venezuela’s oil industry is in disrepair. It could take years and major investments before production can increase dramatically. But some analysts expect its current output of about 1.1 million barrels a day could double or triple fairly quickly.
