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"We do not get the price rise that many participants thought they were going to get out of the sanctions situation against Iran," Yawger said.
Brent crude oil was up 34 cents, or half a percent, at $ 73.17 a barrel at 2:30 pm ET. The US light crude ended Monday's session of 4 cents to 63.10 dollars a barrel.
Both oil indexes have slipped by more than $ 13 a barrel since their highest level in the last four years in early October. Hedge funds reduced bullish bets on crude oil to their lowest level in a year.
The United States has granted exemptions to eight countries – China, India, Greece, Italy, Taiwan, Japan, Turkey and South Korea – allowing them to continue temporarily to buy Iranian oil, said Monday the Secretary of State. US state Mike Pompeo. Some of them are the main customers of Iran, member of the OPEC.
US officials said the goal of the sanctions was to stop all Iran's oil exports.
According to Pompeo, more than 20 countries have already reduced their imports of Iranian oil, cutting their purchases by more than a million barrels a day.
