Oil prices pause gains as Venezuela shipments resume but Iran concerns loom

Oil prices paused their run of gains on Wednesday, slipping after four days of increases, as Venezuela resumed exports, but fears of Iranian supply disruptions following deadly civil unrest in the major Middle Eastern producer loom over the market.

Brent futures were trading 9 cents down, or 0.14% lower, at $65.38 a barrel ‌at 0207 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was down 12 cents, ⁠or 0.20%, at $61.03 a barrel.

Brent futures closed 2.5% higher on Tuesday while WTI gained 2.8% amid a 9.2% surge in prices for both contracts over ​the past four trading sessions as the mounting protests in Iran have increased fears of supply disruptions from the fourth-largest OPEC producer. U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday urged Iranians to keep protesting and said help was on the way without specifying what aid would be provided.

“Protests in Iran risk tightening global oil balances through near-term supply losses, but mainly through rising geopolitical risk premium,” analysts at Citi said in a note, in which they raised their outlook for Brent over the next three months to $70 ‍a barrel.