Oil steadies after new US sanctions on Iran fail to rattle traders
What's new: Brent rose to $92.44 after a 2% drop, as markets treated Washington's move as less risky to supply than military action.
Oil prices steadied Tuesday after the US expanded sanctions aimed at cutting off Iran’s economic lifeline, with traders largely viewing the move as less threatening to crude flows than direct military escalation. Brent crude rose 0.3% to $92.44 a barrel and US West Texas Intermediate gained 0.4% to $85.38, a day after both benchmarks fell more than 2%. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said countries must sever business ties with Iran or risk losing access to the US dollar-based financial system, though he did not name targets or set a start date. Analysts said the shift toward economic coercion eased immediate fears of a supply shock, but risks remained after Iran threatened 45 tankers and a tanker near Oman was disabled by an unidentified projectile.