Name: How Venezuela turmoil could affect U.S. gas prices
Uploaded: 2026-01-06T01:35:44.473Z
Duration: 1 min 55 s
Description: The arrest of Nicolás Maduro sent oil stocks higher. With Chevron leading the way, the Dow hit a record-high of nearly 49,000. Oil prices are also up. Jill Schlesinger explains what it means.

The arrest of Nicolás Maduro sent oil stocks higher. With Chevron leading the way, the Dow hit a record-high of nearly 49,000. Oil prices are also up. Jill Schlesinger explains what it means.

Washington

Recent political developments in Venezuela, including the removal of President Maduro, have led to a rise in oil stocks and a record high for the Dow. However, business analyst Jill Schlesinger notes that any impact on U.S. gas prices will be long-term due to Venezuela's infrastructure challenges and the need for significant investment.

Schlesinger explains that the global economy remains the primary driver of gas prices, with recent declines in crude oil prices resulting in lower prices at the pump. The report also highlights the geopolitical implications, as the shift in Venezuelan leadership could reduce the influence of Russia, China, and Iran in the region.

How Venezuela turmoil could affect U.S. gas prices

The rest of Maduro sent oil stocks higher today, with Chevron leading the way. The Dow hit a record high of nearly 49,000. Oil prices are also up, so what does that mean for the price you pay at the pump? Business analyst Jill Schlesinger is here to talk about it. All right, Jill, so a lot of focus here on the oil industry, those huge reserves. How quickly can we see an impact on the market here? I think this is a long-term project, and we have to understand that although that Venezuela is sitting on over 300 billion barrels of oil, only three quarters of it is easy to extract. That's one problem. The second problem is the infrastructure to do the refining really needs an upgrade. It's been degraded over two decades. So what we're looking for is billions of dollars of investment by U.S. companies who believe that will pay off over time. I really think we've got to set our sights to the long-term, meaning not days, not months, but years. Really, I mean, talk to me more about this, how long-term. So we're talking years before the average consumer could see a change in their prices at the pump? I think that for right now, though it's moving, price at the pump is the global economy. And if you look at last year, because the global economy slowed down, crude oil went down by over 22%. That led to lower gas prices. Gas prices are actually 25 cents a gallon cheaper today than they were a year ago. That's going to be the more important thing. What Americans can expect is the global economy will dominate. All right, as it always does. Thank you very much. You dominate. Thank you for being here. Appreciate it. As you just heard from Jill, we should not expect this to affect gas prices much, which does raise the question of how exactly it helps the United States, if it helps the United States at all. What is this actually about? Well, if you zoom out, you can maybe see at least the outlines of an answer. For decades now, Russia, China, and Iran have been building a presence in Venezuela, a base of power and influence there in this hemisphere. With Maduro now out, that base of power and influence could be out too.

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