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Oil Near Three-Week High on Supply Fears, U.S. Stocks Drop

Oil prices edged higher on Wednesday on supply concerns with the U.S. stepping up efforts to limit Venezuelan and Iranian oil exports, while a bigger-than-expected drop in U.S. crude inventories also lent support.

Brent crude futures gained 20 cents, or 0.3%, to $73.22 a barrel by 0404 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 20 cents, or 0.3%, to $69.20 a barrel.

Both contracts hit their highest in three weeks in the previous session. “Crude oil prices maintain their bullish bias after Trump’s sanctions on Venezuelan oil, raising supply-side concerns,” Priyanka Sachdeva, a senior market analyst at Phillip Nova, wrote in a market commentary on Wednesday.

On Monday Trump signed an executive order authorizing his administration to impose blanket 25% tariffs under the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act on imports from any country that buys Venezuelan crude oil and liquid fuels.

Oil is Venezuela’s main export. China, already a target of U.S. import tariffs, is its largest buyer.

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