Oil mixed as Trump restores pressure on Iran, tariff drama caps prices
Oil prices diverged at settlement on Tuesday amid tariff drama between Washington and Beijing, and after U.S. President Donald Trump restored his "maximum pressure" campaign on Iran, in a bid to drive Iranian oil exports to zero, per a U.S. official.
Trump signed the presidential memorandum ahead of his meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, ordering the U.S. Treasury secretary to impose "maximum economic pressure" on Iran, including sanctions and enforcement mechanisms.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude settled down 46 cents, or 0.63%, at $72.70 a barrel.
Global benchmark Brent crude futures settled up 24 cents, or 0.32%, to $76.20.
Oil came under pressure early as new 10% U.S. tariffs on Chinese imports took effect on Tuesday, spurring retaliatory tariffs by Beijing. At its session low, U.S. crude was down more than 3%, the lowest since late December.
Trump had driven Iran's oil exports to near zero during his first term after reimposing sanctions. They rose under former President Joe Biden's tenure as Iran succeeded in evading sanctions.
Iran, the third-largest producer in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, extracts about 3.3 million barrels of oil per day, or around 3% of global output.
Source: Reuters
