Crude oil fell by 3% on Tuesday, to around $82.50 a barrel, extending a 2.4% decline recorded in the previous session, as signs pointing to possible diplomatic progress between Iran and the United States tempered concerns about supply disruptions.
The latest measures taken by Washington to intensify economic pressure on Iran proved less severe than markets had anticipated.
For reference, the American Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent, indicated that countries trading with Tehran would be granted a grace period to gradually wind down their trade relationships with Iran, under the threat of unilateral sanctions.
According to the Trading Economics platform, investors remain uncertain about the effects of this strategy: it could either affect oil flows passing through the Strait of Hormuz, or heighten tensions with China, the main buyer of Iranian crude.
The American president also stated that Washington had warned Iran that any ship or vessel laying new mines would be “immediately destroyed”.
He stressed that U.S. policy rests on a “zero tolerance” approach to any attempt to mine the Strait of Hormuz, a major strategic passage for the global transport of hydrocarbons.
