Chavez immediately pledged that OPEC member Venezuela, the world’s fifth largest exporter, would continue supplying crude to the world.

However, further disruption to Iraq's oil exports and warnings that Russian company YUKOS' financial crisis could ultimately cut into oil shipments continued to support prices.

U.S. light crude oil for September settled down 53 cents at US$46.05 a barrel, off an early peak of $46.91 a barrel, while London Brent was down 21 cents at US$43.67 a barrel, after hitting a new record at $44.11.

According to the preliminary results released by the National Electoral Council, Chavez won 58.25% of votes in the referendum.