Sawt Falasteen - Oil falls as Trump flags Venezuela shipments, stocks waver

Frankfurt was a rare riser, hitting a record high above 25,000 points, while London fell and Paris was flat.

Lower oil prices dragged on British heavyweights BP and Shell, which were both down more than three percent.

Crude has seen wild swings since Trump ordered the toppling of Nicolas Maduro, his counterpart in Caracas on Saturday and said Washington would run the country while demanding "total access" to its oil.

But both main oil contracts dropped on Wednesday, having already lost ground Tuesday, after Trump announced the latest development.

"The Interim Authorities in Venezuela will be turning over between 30 and 50 MILLION Barrels of High Quality, Sanctioned Oil, to the United States of America," he wrote on his Truth Social platform.

"This oil will be sold at its market price, and that money will be controlled by me, as President of the United States of America, to ensure it is used to benefit the people of Venezuela and the United States."

Analysts said the shipments lowered the risk that Caracas would have to cut output owing to its limited storage capacity, easing supply concerns

But they added that the outlook for the commodity pointed to lower prices, as the market remains well stocked after OPEC+ agreed to boost output.

Venezuela sits on about a fifth of the world's oil reserves, but observers pointed out that a quick ramp-up of output would be hamstrung by several issues including its creaking infrastructure, low prices and political uncertainty.

"Today's move lower is a sign that the oil price continues to be sensitive to any shift in supply dynamics," said Kathleen Brooks, research director at the trading group XTB.

Equity markets fluctuated after a strong start to the year that has already seen Seoul follow London and New York in hitting record highs thanks to the relentless rush into all things artificial intelligence.

Shanghai also edged up, while Hong Kong closed lower and Tokyo shed more than one percent after China imposed tougher export controls on products sent to Japan with potential military uses.

Still, despite rising geopolitical tensions, analysts remain upbeat about the outlook for equities this year.

"Participants remained squarely focused on what remains a robust bull case of resilient economic growth and robust earnings growth, largely in keeping with that which powered the market higher last year," wrote Michael Brown, senior research strategist at Pepperstone.

He pointed to "expectations for considerably looser monetary and fiscal backdrops through the next twelve months".

- Key figures at around 1100 GMT -

West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.7 percent at $56.73 per barrel

Brent North Sea Crude: DOWN 0.4 percent at $60.47 per barrel

London - FTSE 100: DOWN 0.6 percent at 10,058.55 points

Paris - CAC 40: FLAT at 8,240.23

Frankfurt - DAX: UP 0.7 percent at 25,057.40

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 1.1 percent at 51,961.98 (close)

Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.9 percent at 26,458.95 (close)

Shanghai - Composite: UP 0.1 percent at 4,085.77 (close)

New York - Dow: UP 1.0 percent at 49,462.08 (close)

Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1691 from $1.1693 on Tuesday

Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3501 from $1.3503

Dollar/yen: DOWN at 156.49 yen from 156.59 yen

Euro/pound: UP at 86.60 pence from 86.58 pence

T.Khatib--SF-PST