Oil prices rose slightly in Asian trading on Thursday, holding near three-week highs amid concerns over tighter global supply following U.S. threats of tariffs on buyers of Venezuelan oil.
However, market sentiment remained mixed on the potential impact of Donald Trump's latest move to impose auto-sector tariffs.
By 2:55 pm AEDT (3:55 am GMT), Brent crude futures had gained 14 cents, or 0.2%, to trade at $73.93 per barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures also climbed 14 cents, or 0.2%, to $69.79 per barrel.
ANZ analysts noted: "Traders become increasingly concerned about near-term tightness in the physical market. The Trump administration has recently placed additional sanctions on Chinese buyers and shippers of Iranian oil.
"The White House also removed Chevron’s licence to operate and export oil from Venezuela. Trump warned that any nation purchasing oil and natural gas from Venezuela could be slapped with 25% tariffs."
On the data front, Crude oil inventories saw a decrease of 3.3 million barrels during the week ending March 21, according to data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA). Markets were expecting a decline of 1.6 million barrels.
