U.S. sanctions will sharply limit oil transactions between Venezuela and other countries and are similar to but slightly less extensive than those imposed on Iran last year, experts said on Friday after looking at details posted by the Treasury Department.
Argentina and the European Union (EU) reached an agreement to end a dispute over exports of biodiesel, the Argentine Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. The deal establishes price and volume limits to be announced next month, the ministry said in a statement.
Residents devastated by a mining dam burst in Brazil that may have killed more than 300 people reacted on Thursday with indifference and in many cases anger to miner Vale SA’s pledges to pay victims’ families and improve safety.
The White House warned traders on Wednesday not to deal in Venezuelan gold or oil following its imposition of stiff sanctions aimed at forcing socialist President Nicolas Maduro from power.
The President of Venezuela’s opposition-dominated National Assembly Juan Guaido will announce new boards of directors for state oil company PDVSA and its U.S. business, Citgo, according to opposition leader sources.
Vale SA, the world’s largest iron ore miner, on Tuesday vowed to take as much as 10% of its ore output offline in order to decommission ten more dams like the one that burst last week, killing scores of workers and nearby residents.
The US has imposed sanctions on Venezuela's state-owned oil firm PDVSA and urged the country's military to accept a peaceful transfer of power. National Security Adviser John Bolton said President Nicolás Maduro and his allies could no longer loot the assets of the Venezuelan people. Efforts by the opposition to unseat Mr Maduro have increased in recent days.
Brazil’s government weighed pushing for a management overhaul at miner Vale SA on Monday as grief over hundreds feared killed by a dam burst turned into anger, with prosecutors, politicians and victims’ families calling for punishment. By Monday, firefighters in the state of Minas Gerais had confirmed 65 people killed by Friday’s disaster, in which a burst tailings dam sent a torrent of sludge into the miner’s offices and the town of Brumadinho.
Brazilian miner Vale SA’s shares plunged on Monday, wiping out nearly 62 billion reais (US$ 16.4 billion) in market value, after a tailing dam collapse on Friday killed at least 65 people and left 292 missing with slim hopes for recovery. Vale shares were down 21.5% in Sao Paulo morning trading, at 44.70 reais. The company suspended dividend payments late on Sunday.
Oil prices fell on Monday after U.S. energy firms added rigs for the first time this year in a sign that crude production there will rise further. U.S. spot crude oil futures CLc1 were at US$ 53.37 per barrel at 0027 GMT, down 32 cents, or 0.6 percent, from their last settlement.