Nymex Overview: Petroleum Futures Fall as Market Shrugs Off Latest Iran Sanctions — OPIS

Crude oil and refined product futures prices ended the day lower Monday, as the market largely shrugged off the latest U.S. economic action against Iran.

Crude prices fell by about 2.5% during the day, with the October West Texas Intermediate crude contract sinking by $2.05 to $85.01/bbl while November prices were off by $1.86 to $83.30/bbl.

October Brent crude futures fell by $2.22 to $92.17/bbl and November prices were down by $2.13 to $90.54/bbl.

ULSD futures ended the day down 5% with the September contract sliding by 22.71cts to $4.2677/bbl in light trade as the contract approaches expiration at the end of the month. The more-active October contract was 21.14cts lower to $4.1734/gal.

Most activity in RBOB futures was also focused on the next-month contract, with September prices falling by 7.71cts to $3.2708/gal and October down by 7.8cts to $2.9688/gal.

Futures prices were largely unchanged from settlement in late trading at 4:25 p.m. ET, with WTI prices down less than 10cts/bbl while Brent crude was seeing additional losses of about 20cts.

Changes for ULSD and RBOB futures were being measured in fractions of a cent.

The Trump administration on Monday unveiled its "Operation Economic Outcast" plan, an attempt to force Iran to negotiate an end to its nuclear program.

As part of efforts to isolate Iran, the administration has said it will also target countries that help Iran evade sanctions. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said this could include China if that country helps Iran continue to sell its oil.

"The U.S. has branded this an 'economic D-Day,' but the immediate measures look less dramatic than the rhetoric," said Jorge Leon, senior vice president and head of geopolitical analysis at Rystad Energy. "The real question now is how aggressively Washington is prepared to enforce secondary sanctions against Iran's remaining trading partners."

"China is the key," he said. "Iranian crude exports have already fallen sharply because of the blockade, and Beijing is essentially the only significant buyer left. Unless China materially reduces purchases further, the additional impact on Iranian oil revenues could be relatively limited."

Leon noted that the market's muted reaction to the announcement shows the uncertainty still surrounding the conflict. "What matters now is not the announcement itself, but whether China complies and whether Iran retaliates," he said.

This content was created by Oil Price Information Service, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. OPIS is run independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.

Reporting by Steve Cronin, scronin@opisnet.com; Editing by Dean Visser, dean.visser@dowjones.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 24, 2026 17:21 ET (21:21 GMT)