Oil Retreats Ahead of the US Treasury Secretary's Press Conference on New Iran Sanctions

Oil prices fell in early Asian trading on Monday, 24 August 2026 (2 Shahrivar 1405), with markets awaiting a press conference by US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on a new sanctions package targeting Iran and the buyers and shippers of its oil. The decline follows a gain of more than 5 percent last week and is attributed mainly to profit taking.

The size of the drop is reported differently by different feeds. Oilprice.com, in a dispatch timed 21:18 US Central on 23 August, put West Texas Intermediate at 85.18 dollars, down 2.16 percent, and Brent at 92.32 dollars, down 2.19 percent. Trading Economics, in a live reading on 24 August, recorded WTI at 85.62 dollars, down 1.66 percent. On that basis the fall should be treated as a range of roughly 1.5 to 2.2 percent.

According to Oilprice.com, US Central Command says it has redirected 70 vessels and disabled 3 under the current naval blockade. No confirmed attack in the Strait of Hormuz was recorded in the 48 hours before that report. The oil price is the single most important external variable for Iran's foreign currency earnings and its budget.