02:38 PM EST, 01/07/2026 (MT Newswires) -- West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil closed sharply lower on Wednesday following reports that United States reached an agreement to acquire US$2 billion of oil from Venezuela after the capture of the country's president, while a report showed an unexpected drop in U.S. inventories last week.

WTI crude oil for February delivery closed down US$1.14 to settle at US$55.99 per barrel, while March Brent oil was last seen down US$0.33 to US$59.93.

U.S. President Donald Trump said he reached an agreement to acquire Venezuelan oil supplies that had been destined for China and other importers but had been kept from the market due to the U.S. shipping blockade imposed last month. Trump, in a social media post, said the South American country will deliver up to 50-million barrels of discounted oil to U.S. refiners following the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro last weekend.

"Oil extended Tuesday's losses with Brent trading back to USD 60 after Trump said Venezuela would turn over 50 million barrels of crude to the US, with the proceeds being shared between them, while at the same demanding the country cut its ties to China, Russia, Iran and Cuba," Saxo Bank noted.

In its weekly survey, the Energy Information Administration reported U.S. commercial oil inventories fell by 3.8-million barrels last week, while the consensus estimate among analysts polled by Reuters expected a 447,000 rise in stocks.