(Investing) – NEW YORK -Oil prices edged up for a third straight day on Tuesday as sanctions raised concerns about Russian and Iranian oil supplies, outweighing worries that escalating trade tariffs would boost prices and inflation and dampen global economic growth.
Brent futures rose 86 cents, or 1.1%, to $76.73 a barrel by 11:06 a.m. EST (1606 GMT), while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose 73 cents, or 1.0%, to $73.05.
“With the U.S. bearing down on Iranian exports and sanctions still biting into Russian flows, Asian crude grades remain firm and underpin the rally from yesterday,” said PVM oil analyst John Evans.
Shipments of Russian oil to leading importers China and India have been significantly disrupted in recent weeks by U.S. sanctions targeting tankers, producers and insurers.
Russia, however, said on Tuesday that U.S. sanctions should not affect Moscow’s oil trade with India, the world’s third-biggest importer of crude oil.
Adding to supply jitters are U.S. sanctions on networks shipping Iranian oil to China after U.S. President Donald Trump restored his “maximum pressure” on Iranian oil exports last week.
Tuesday’s oil price gains were kept in check by Trump’s latest trade tariffs, which could dampen global growth and energy demand.
On Monday, Trump raised tariffs on steel and aluminium imports to the U.S. to 25% “without exceptions or exemptions.”
The European Union said it would respond with “firm and proportionate countermeasures,” escalating fears of a trade war.
“Tariffs and counter-tariffs have the potential to weigh on the oil-intensive part of the global economy in particular, creating uncertainty over demand,” Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) said in a note.
