Oil prices rose slightly on Tuesday as markets waited to see just how wider U.S. sanctions against Iran will play out, with Tehran vowing retaliation.

Brent Oil Futures rose 0.15% to $92.31 a barrel by 21:12 ET (01:12 GMT), while West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 0.3% to $85.28 a barrel.

Crude prices had fallen sharply on Monday, facing some profit-taking after weekend reports that shipping through the Strait of Hormuz had improved.

But shipping activity still remained at a fraction of pre-war levels, while oil prices retained an over 5% gain from last week.

The U.S. on Monday announced a host of new sanctions against 60 entities and individuals associated with Iran, while warning countries against maintaining any economic ties with Tehran.

But Washington stopped short of actually imposing penalties on any particular countries, or specifying when said penalties will take effect.

The list of 60 entities also did not include any Chinese entities that are suspected of facilitating Iran’s oil trade.

China is a major buyer of Iranian oil, and while Washington has criticized its purchases, it has so far stopped short of directly targeting Chinese banks.

Iran signaled it was ready to retaliate to the measures, having earlier also indicated that the country will further disrupt oil flows through the Middle East in response to U.S. aggression.

The new U.S. sanctions represent a shift towards economic pressure over military aggression against Iran. But given that the country has remained subject to strict U.S. sanctions for several decades running, it remained unclear just how much progress the new measures will yield.

Still, the latest development showed the U.S. and Iran remaining at odds, pointing to little headway in reopening the Strait of Hormuz and ending hostilities in the Middle East.

While recent data pointed to some pickup in commercial traffic in Hormuz, it still remained drastically below pre-war levels. The channel supplied about 20% of the world’s oil supply prior to the war, with its closure being a major point of support for crude.

Source: Oilprice.com

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