{"id":66123,"date":"2026-01-12T02:39:17","date_gmt":"2026-01-12T02:39:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/morning-brief-asian-markets-cautious-major-oil-companies-circle-on-venezuela\/"},"modified":"2026-01-12T02:39:17","modified_gmt":"2026-01-12T02:39:17","slug":"morning-brief-asian-markets-cautious-major-oil-companies-circle-on-venezuela","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/morning-brief-asian-markets-cautious-major-oil-companies-circle-on-venezuela\/","title":{"rendered":"Morning brief: Asian markets cautious; major oil companies circle on Venezuela"},"content":{"rendered":"

(Originally posted on : Oil News, Latest Stories & Analysis | Invezz )<\/b>
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Asian markets traded mixed on Friday as investors stayed on the sidelines ahead of a key US jobs report and a potentially market-moving Supreme Court ruling on the legality of President Donald Trump\u2019s global tariffs. <\/p>\n

At the same time, developments around Venezuela\u2019s oil sector, fresh data on China\u2019s inflation, and a legal challenge by US states over frozen federal funding added to a busy global backdrop.<\/p>\n

Asian markets tread carefully<\/h2>\n


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Asian equities drifted lower in early trade, reflecting investor caution before major US economic and political events. <\/p>\n

MSCI\u2019s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan slipped 0.09%, hovering just below a record high touched earlier in the week. <\/p>\n

India\u2019s Nifty 50 was down 0.4%. <\/p>\n

Japan\u2019s Nikkei bucked the regional trend, rising 1.4%, helped by strong earnings and an upbeat outlook from Fast Retailing, the owner of the Uniqlo brand.<\/p>\n

European stock futures pointed higher, up 0.3%, while Wall Street ended the previous session largely flat. <\/p>\n

Within US markets, aerospace and defence stocks outperformed, with a key index hitting an all-time high, mirrored by gains in European defence shares. <\/p>\n

Heightened geopolitical tensions also pushed oil prices higher.<\/p>\n

Investors are focused on two near-term risks: December\u2019s US employment report and a possible Supreme Court ruling on tariffs imposed during Trump\u2019s first term. <\/p>\n

Analysts warned that striking down the tariffs could hit government revenue, lift Treasury yields, and trigger fresh volatility. <\/p>\n

For now, traders appeared reluctant to take large positions ahead of these events.<\/p>\n

US data released on Thursday showed labour demand remained sluggish, reinforcing expectations that the economy is in a \u201cno hire, no fire\u201d phase. <\/p>\n

Economists polled by Reuters expect nonfarm payrolls to have risen by 60,000 in December, following a 64,000 increase in November. <\/p>\n

The October report showed a sharp loss of 105,000 jobs, largely due to federal employees taking deferred buyouts.<\/p>\n

Markets are pricing in at least two Federal Reserve rate cuts this year, although policymakers have signalled fewer cuts beyond that. <\/p>\n

The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury eased slightly to around 4.17%, while the dollar index hovered near a one-month high against major currencies.<\/p>\n

US plans for Venezuela\u2019s oil sector<\/h2>\n


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Oil prices extended gains, with Brent crude rising 0.7% to about $62.46 a barrel, as investors weighed geopolitical risks and developments in Venezuela. <\/p>\n

US government-backed efforts to export Venezuelan oil have attracted interest from major oil companies and trading houses, including Chevron, Vitol, and Trafigura.<\/a> <\/p>\n

Talks are expected at the White House, where executives will discuss potential roles in reviving Venezuela\u2019s battered energy sector. <\/p>\n

US President Donald Trump, in an interview, said oil companies will invest $100 billion to rebuild Venezuela\u2019s oil industry. <\/p>\n

The US has indicated it intends to control Venezuelan oil sales and hold proceeds in US accounts, with up to 50 million barrels potentially being sold.<\/p>\n

While Venezuela holds the world\u2019s largest oil reserves, years of underinvestment have left infrastructure in disrepair. <\/p>\n

Estimates suggest rebuilding could cost as much as $100 billion over a decade, prompting caution among oil executives despite strong political backing from the Trump administration.<\/p>\n

China inflation shows mixed signals<\/h2>\n


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In China, data showed consumer inflation accelerated in December to its fastest pace in nearly three years<\/a>, driven by seasonal food price increases ahead of the Lunar New Year. <\/p>\n

Consumer prices rose 0.8% year on year, matching expectations, while monthly inflation came in at 0.2%.<\/p>\n

However, underlying demand remained weak. <\/p>\n

Core inflation was unchanged at 1.2%, and producer prices fell 1.9% from a year earlier, extending a deflationary streak beyond three years. <\/p>\n

For 2025 as a whole, consumer inflation was flat, missing Beijing\u2019s target of around 2%. <\/p>\n

Economists cautioned that the property slump and weak job market continue to weigh on spending despite policy support.<\/p>\n

US states sue over frozen federal funds<\/h2>\n


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Adding to political uncertainty, five Democratic-led US states, including New York and California, filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration over a freeze on $10 billion in federal aid for child care and other services for low-income families. <\/p>\n

The states accused the administration of targeting them for political reasons and of cutting off funds without following required legal procedures.<\/p>\n

The White House did not immediately comment. <\/p>\n

The case adds another legal challenge to an already complex policy environment, with potential implications for state budgets and social programs.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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(Originally posted on : Oil News, Latest Stories & Analysis | Invezz ) Asian markets traded mixed on Friday as investors stayed on the sidelines ahead of a key US jobs report and a potentially market-moving Supreme Court ruling on the legality of President Donald Trump\u2019s global tariffs. At the same time, developments around Venezuela\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3947362390,"featured_media":66124,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0},"categories":[38],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66123"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3947362390"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=66123"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66123\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/66124"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=66123"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=66123"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=66123"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}