Singapore — Crude oil futures were higher in mid-morning trade in Asia Monday as the US signaled preparedness to ramp up pressure on the Maduro regime in Venezuela.

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At 10:27 am Singapore time (0227 GMT), November ICE Brent crude futures were up 94 cents/b (1.19%) from Friday's settle at $79.74/b, while the NYMEX October light sweet crude contract was 76 cents/b (1.07%) higher at $71.54/b.

Analysts said while US pressure on the regime of Nicolas Maduro would not include restrictions on US imports of Venezuelan crude oil, it could include new prohibitions on US light oil exports and refined product exports to Venezuela, S&P Global Platts reported.

US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo indicated Friday that the Trump administration was developing retaliatory measures against the Maduro regime.

"I think you'll see in the coming days a series of actions that continue to increase the pressure level against the Venezuelan leadership -- folks who are working directly against the best interests of the Venezuelan people," Pompeo said in an interview with Fox News, without elaborating.

A State Department spokesman Sunday declined comment on whether oil sector sanctions were being considered by the administration.

Prices were also buoyed by Saudi energy minister Khalid al-Falih saying demand for crude oil was seen higher in October.

Saudi Arabia intends to raise output in coming months to meet rising demand, he said, without providing specific figures.

Falih stressed the additional output would be demand-driven and not serve as a mechanism to influence prices. "We have seen higher demand in October," he said.

Falih acknowledged that some of Saudi Aramco's crude customers had already started asking for more barrels on top of their term requirements.

"With no concrete proposal or direction on an increase in output emerging from the weekend OPEC meeting, oil prices are likely to start the week positively," ANZ bank analysts said in a note Monday.

"Activity in WTI crude was more intensive, with the market increasingly concerned about dwindling inventories. In fact, reports have suggested that tanks at Cushing may be close to being emptied completely due to strong demand," the ANZ analysts added.

As of 0227 GMT, the US dollar index was 0.07% higher at 93.860.

--Ng Jing Zhi, jz.ng@spglobal.com

--Edited by Wendy Wells, wendy.wells@spglobal.com