Feds forced to raise oil price forecast amid Venezuela sanctions

Trump’s sanctions on Venezuela have managed to reduce the country’s oil production by 100,000 barrels a day from January to February, enough to drive up oil prices for 2019, the federal government forecast Wednesday.

The Energy Information Administration, which issued the forecast, is closely tracking the effects of the administration’s sanctions on oil prices, along with OPEC’s production cuts. Venezuela production dipped from 1.2 million barrels per day to 1.1 million barrels per day in the first month of sanctions.