Thanks for joining me. Oil prices fell overnight as traders reacted for the first time to the removal of Nicolas Maduro as leader of Venezuela in a strike by US forces. Here is what you need to know.
5 things to start your day
1) Shell eyes return to Venezuela to claim gas billions | Huge investment opportunity for British oil company and other majors
2) Venezuela becomes Trump’s energy superweapon against China | Beijing ‘is the biggest loser’ from Nicolás Maduro’s capture
3) Deaths to outnumber births from now on, Resolution Foundation warns | Shift prompts ‘hard questions about the future of our public services’
4) Unemployment climbs close to EU levels for first time | Narrowing of the gap suggests Britain’s problems are largely home-grown
5) Collapsing birth rates may be the biggest challenge of our era | Governments are under pressure to increase the birth rate
What happened overnight
Oil prices fell back while the prices of precious metals surged after the US capture of Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro in a weekend raid.
Share prices opened higher, with benchmarks in South Korea and Japan again setting fresh records. US stocks were flat in premarket trading after eeking out small gains Friday on Wall Street.
Shortly after trading began, US benchmark crude oil rose slightly. But it later was trading 23 cents lower at $57.09 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, gave up 17 cents to $60.58 per barrel. It fell as much as 1.2pc.
The price of gold rose 1.9pc, while silver jumped 5.7pc.
Such assets are often considered safe havens in times of geopolitical turmoil.
Share prices in Asia shot sharply higher.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 jumped 3pc to 51,853.53. The index closed at a year end high for 2025 and only resumed trading on Monday.
South Korea’s Kospi surged 3.1pc to 4,441.80. It had ended Friday with a record high close.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.1pc to 8,733.30, while Taiwan’s benchmark climbed 2.9pc.
In other trading early Monday, the dollar rose to 157.27 Japanese yen from 156.82 yen. The euro slipped to $1.168 from $1.173.