Oil moves on report, denial of US attack plan on Venezuela

Oil prices popped up on media reports that U.S. air strikes on Venezuela could begin within hours only to fall after U.S. President Donald Trump issued a denial of the report on social media.

Brent crude futures were up 6 cents, or 0.09%, at $65.06 a barrel by 11:12 a.m. CDT (1612 GMT), while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was at $60.50 a barrel, down 7 cents, or 0.12%.

"Is this Donald Trump's trick or treat?" said Phil Flynn, senior analyst for Price Futures Group, noting that Trump had earlier denied reports of a planned attack on Iran before carrying out airstrikes against the Islamic Republic.

"There definitely was an impact on the market when the first report of a planned attack on Venezuela came out," Flynn said. “If there is an attack over the weekend, prices will spike on Monday.”

The United States has deployed a task force centered around the nation's largest aircraft carrier, Gerald Ford, off the coast of Venezuela, far beyond the needs of attacking drug traffickers on small boats, which has been a focus of U.S. naval activity in the Caribbean in recent weeks.