Gold, US oil firms and markets surge after Maduro’s capture
Commodity prices and shares in the biggest US oil companies rose strongly on Monday in the first market reaction since America’s weekend capture of Venezuela’s president, Nicolás Maduro.
Investors moved to assess the short-term disruption to oil exports from the South American country, a member of the Opec cartel of producers, against the potentially significant increase in supply over the medium term.
Venezuela holds about 17 per cent of the world’s proven crude reserves but produces less than 1 per cent of global oil output. Exports have fallen sharply from a 1970s peak due to under-investment, US sanctions and a naval blockade.
President Trump has vowed to rebuild the country’s oil infrastructure and said US energy companies “want to go in so badly. We’re going to have the big oil companies going and they’re going to fix the infrastructure. They’re going to invest money.”
Maduro with Venezuelan oil workers in 2013
REUTERS
Shares in Chevron, the only US major currently operating in Venezuela’s oil fields, closed up 5.1 per cent in New York, while the US refiners Marathon Petroleum and Phillips 66 also rose strongly. Exxon Mobil stock hit a record high of $125.36, up 2.2 per cent.
Analysts at JP Morgan said America’s action could lead to the return of assets seized by Venezuela in 2007 under Hugo Chávez, the country’s former leader. “In total, ConocoPhillips has outstanding claims approaching $10 billion, while Exxon’s outstanding damages appear to be in the $2 billion range, against their original claims that exceeded $15 billion,” they said.
• Melanie Phillips: It was right to rip up the rulebook on Venezuela
Brent crude, the international benchmark, rose 1.6 per cent to $61.69 a barrel on Monday night, while US West Texas Intermediate crude was up 1.6 per cent to $57.96.
An oil tanker on Venezuela’s Lake Maracaibo in December
HENRY CHIRINOS/EPA
Analysts said that in a well-supplied global market, any further disruption to Venezuela’s exports would have limited short-term impact on prices. Trump has said that the embargo on all Venezuelan oil exports remains in force.
Higher share prices in the energy, defence and precious metals sectors helped lift Wall Street and European indices to fresh highs. On Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average broke through the 49,000 level for the first time during intraday trading and closed up 1.2 per cent at 48,977.18 while the S&P 500 rose 0.6 per cent to 6,902.05.
Lockheed Martin, up 2.9 per cent, and General Dynamics, 3.5 per cent higher, were among the best-performing US defence stocks.
Gold prices rose to a one-week high, back towards their recent peak, amid a flight to safety. The precious metal rose 2.84 per cent to $4,393.97 an ounce, the best day since October 20, 2025, while silver gained 3.6 per cent to $75.25 an ounce. Copper prices also crossed $13,000 a tonne, a new high, albeit on concerns over supplies following a strike at a Chilean mine.
“The situation around Venezuela has clearly reactivated safe-haven demand, but it comes on top of existing concerns about geopolitics, energy supply and monetary policy,” said Alexander Zumpfe, a trader at Heraeus Precious Metals in Germany.
“Another move toward new record highs would likely be triggered if geopolitical tensions broaden further, or if incoming US data reinforces expectations that the Federal Reserve will have to ease [US monetary policy] more aggressively than currently priced.”
Trump has threatened to order another military strike if Venezuela does not co-operate with US efforts to open up its oil industry and stop drug-trafficking. The president also suggested that Colombia and Mexico could face military action if they do not reduce the flow of illicit drugs.
• Trevor Phillips: US force is no surprise to Latin America
Meanwhile, Venezuela’s default-hit government bonds surged on the prospect of a major sovereign debt restructuring.
Defence stocks lead FTSE to record close
The FTSE 100 closed above 10,000 for the first time ever yesterday as London’s blue-chip companies set a new record for the second consecutive session (Tom Howard writes).
Led by its big-name defence companies and miners after the capture of the Venezuelan president, Nicolás Maduro, the Footsie climbed a further 53.43 points, or 0.5 per cent, to reach 10,004.57, surpassing the record of 9,951.14 that it had set at the end of last week.
The index, which closed at record highs 41 times last year, had briefly topped 10,000 on Friday.
Gerald Toledano, head of equities at FTSE Russell, a subsidiary of the London Stock Exchange Group that produces the FTSE 100, called it a “landmark moment for the UK market”.
He added: “[Passing 10,000] demonstrates the enduring dynamism of British companies and the important role London continues to play as a global financial centre.”
Investors bet that another escalation of global geopolitical tensions, this time in South America, would be a boon for a defence industry that has already benefited from wars in Ukraine and the Middle East.
Shares in Babcock, which builds armoured cars and warships, rose 5.8 per cent. BAE Systems, the fighter jet manufacturer, gained 5.5 per cent and Rolls-Royce, whose technology powers nuclear submarines, advanced 2.9 per cent.
Antofagasta, the Chilean copper miner, was the biggest riser on the FTSE 100, closing up 6.2 per cent.
The FTSE 250, home to more domestically focused businesses, rose 184.72 points, or 0.8 per cent, to 22,593.93, its highest level in four years.
