Oil rises ahead of renewed U.S. sanctions against Iran

Oil prices rose on Tuesday ahead of the introduction of U.S. sanctions against major crude exporter Iran.

Spot Brent crude oil futures were at $73.88 per barrel at 0241 GMT on Tuesday, up 13 cents, or 0.2 percent, from their last close.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were up 1 cent at $69.02 barrel.

U.S. sanctions against Iran, which shipped out almost 3 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude in July, are set to begin at 12:01 a.m. U.S. Eastern time (0401 GMT) on Tuesday.

"The U.S. seems hell-bent on regime change in Iran," said Greg McKenna, chief market strategist at futures brokerage AxiTrader.

Many countries, including U.S. allies in Europe as well as China and India oppose the introduction of new sanctions, but the U.S. government said it wants as many countries as possible to stop buying Iranian oil.

HEAT IMPACTS OIL

The main oil market price drivers of recent months have been output levels by top producers Russia, Saudi Arabia and the United States, renewed Iran sanctions, the U.S.-China trade dispute, and unplanned supply disruptions. Some analysts warned that a global heat wave could also now affect oil demand.

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