Crude has seen wild swings since Trump ordered the toppling of Nicolas Maduro

Oil prices fell further today after President Donald Trump said Venezuela would turn over millions of barrels to the United States.

Meanwhile, equities wobbled after a record-breaking start to the year.

Crude has seen wild swings since Trump ordered the toppling of Nicolas Maduro, his counterpart in Caracas, on Saturday and said Washington would run the country while demanding "total access" to its oil.

Both main oil contracts dropped today, having already lost ground yesterday, after Trump announced the latest development.

"The Interim Authorities in Venezuela will be turning over between 30 and 50 MILLION Barrels of High Quality, Sanctioned Oil, to the United States of America," he wrote on his Truth Social platform.

"This oil will be sold at its market price, and that money will be controlled by me, as President of the United States of America, to ensure it is used to benefit the people of Venezuela and the United States."

US Energy Secretary Chris Wright said Wednesday that Washington will control sales of Venezuelan oil "indefinitely".

Analysts said the shipments lowered the risk that Caracas would have to cut output owing to its limited storage capacity, easing supply concerns.

But they added that the outlook for the commodity pointed to lower prices, as the market remains well stocked after OPEC+ agreed to boost output.

Venezuela sits on about a fifth of the world's oil reserves, but observers pointed out that a quick ramp-up of output would be hamstrung by several issues, including its creaking infrastructure, low prices, and political uncertainty.

Crude prices only briefly picked up after US forces seized a Russian-flagged oil tanker in the North Atlantic for alleged sanctions violations, before sinking again.

US forces said they also seized another tanker in the Caribbean.

In equities trading, the Dow initially edged higher from a record close on Tuesday, but then turned lower.

"US job openings falling to their lowest level since December 2020 and modest -- below expectations -- US private sector jobs growth dampened the bullish mood," said IG trading platform analyst Axel Rudolph.