Crude Oil Rebounds On New Iran Sanctions

(RTTNews) - The price of crude oil moved sharply higher during trading on Tuesday, regaining ground following the sharp pullback seen in the previous session.

After plunging $1.60 or 2.5 percent to $63.08 a barrel during Monday's session, crude for May delivery surged $1.23 or 2.0 percent to $64.31 a barrel.

The rebound by crude oil futures came after the Treasury Department announced sanctions targeting Iranian national and liquified petroleum gas magnate Seyed Asadoollah Emamjomeh and his corporate network.

The Treasury said Emamjomeh and his network are collectively responsible for shipping hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of Iranian LPG and crude oil to foreign markets.

"Emamjomeh and his network sought to export thousands of shipments of LPG—including from the United States—to evade U.S. sanctions and generate revenue for Iran," said Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.

He added, "The United States remains committed to holding accountable those who seek to provide the Iranian regime with the funding it needs to further its destabilizing activities in the region and around the world."

Crude oil also benefitted from the latest developments on the trade front, with reports indicating Bessent told a closed-door investor summit he expects the trade dispute between the U.S. and China to de-escalate.

Citing people who attended the session at an event hosted by JPMorgan Chase (JPM), Bloomberg reported Bessent said negotiations haven't started but that a trade deal with China is possible.

A person in the room also told CNBC that Bessent called the current status quo unsustainable and predicted there will "de-escalation" in the "very near future."