Middle East tensions continue to dominate Asian oil markets

News on the price of Brent crude oil: Following a decline in the previous session, oil prices stabilized throughout Asian trade on Tuesday as investors continued to evaluate the risk associated with Middle Eastern geopolitical worries.

By 01:53 GMT, U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude prices were up 4 cents to $81.94 a barrel, while the global benchmark Brent crude oil futures were up 4 cents to $87.39 a barrel. On indications that the recent escalation of hostilities between Israel and Iran had no immediate effect on oil supply in the area, both benchmarks dropped 29 cents during the previous session.

Analysts did point out that there are still a lot of concerns in the oil industry. Analysts from ANZ emphasized that the US has approved additional sanctions against Iran’s oil industry, which expand the scope of the existing penalties to encompass international ports, ships, and refineries that knowingly handle or transport Iranian petroleum.

“The geopolitical backdrop is still very fraught with so many risks at the moment, so clearly we’re going to see a lot of volatility until there’s a lot more clarity around it,” ANZ analysts said in a podcast.

On Monday, Barclays analysts said that there is still a greater likelihood of Brent prices falling short of their $90 per barrel prediction for this year.

“The imminent threat of geopolitical risk spilling over into oil market fundamentals has largely faded, but the overall trend in that risk since October last year is concerning,” the analysts at Barclays said in a note.

According to a preliminary Reuters survey of experts, US crude oil stocks are predicted to have climbed last week, while stockpiles of refined products most certainly decreased.