By Angus Berwick
Oil prices rallied and the dollar strengthened after President Trump ramped up pressure on Venezuela, ordering a blockade of sanctioned tankers entering and exiting the country.
The announcement came after the U.S. recently seized a tanker full of Venezuelan crude and indicated there would be more ship seizures. Brent crude futures rose over 2% in morning trading, topping $60 a barrel, after skidding on Tuesday. Shares of global energy companies, including BP and Shell, rallied.
The dollar strengthened against a range of major currencies, notably sterling. The U.K.'s pound and bond yields fell after data showed inflation there slowed to an eight-month low, making a Bank of England rate cut appear all but certain tomorrow.
U.S. index futures crept higher. The Dow industrials and Nasdaq composite both fell yesterday following tepid nonfarm payrolls. More key economic data is due Thursday with the publication of November's inflation report.
In other markets:
-- Global markets largely advanced. China's Shanghai composite and Hang Seng Index both rose about 1%, boosted by AI stocks. The FTSE 100 rose 1.5%, bolstered by energy and bank stocks.
-- Silver futures rallied to another record intraday high.
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
December 17, 2025 06:18 ET (11:18 GMT)
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