Oil Prices Fall Ahead of Bessent's Iran Sanctions Plan

By Amanda Lee

Crude oil futures declined in early Asian trading, ahead of Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's press conference on the U.S.'s planned sanctions against Iran set for Monday.

The U.S. is expected to announce new economic sanctions against Iran as the impasse over the Strait of Hormuz persists amid no signs of a deal between Washington and Tehran.

Bessent will hold a press conference Monday to announce sanctions against Iran that would be the greatest campaign of "coordinated economic isolation in the history of the world," he told CNBC last week.

Investors are looking ahead to Bessent's press conference, where he is expected to outline details of the planned sanctions, said Tiger Brokers market strategist James Ooi in a note.

"Oil is likely to be the primary channel through which tighter sanctions transmit to markets, with investors watching closely to see whether stronger enforcement curbs Iranian exports or complicates the logistics of oil shipments," Ooi said.

Front-month West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures fell 1.6% to $85.67 a barrel, while front-month Brent crude oil futures dropped 1.4% to $93.05 a barrel, according to ICE data.

Global government bonds were mostly higher. Australia's 10-year government bond yield declined 4 basis points to 4.9950%, New Zealand's 10-year sovereign debt fell 2 basis points to 4.7280%, while 10-year U.S. Treasurys declined 2 basis points to 4.7130%. Meanwhile, the yield on Japan's 10-year sovereign securities rose 1.5 basis points to 2.890%. Bond yields move inversely to prices.

The press conference could be important for both the Treasury and geopolitical outlook, said Commerzbank Research analysts in a note. Markets will look at further details on the Treasury's expanded bond-buyback program and whether additional measures will be considered to address elevated long-term yields, they added.

Japan's Nikkei Stock Average was down 0.1% in early trading, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index dropped 2.0% and South Korea's Kospi shed 2.0%. Meanwhile, Singapore's FTSE Straits Times was little changed and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 benchmark index was up 0.6%.

Spot gold rose 0.85% to $4,641.69 a troy ounce.

Write to Amanda Lee at amanda.lee@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 23, 2026 23:23 ET (03:23 GMT)