MW U.S. oil prices end below $74 a barrel after 60-day pause on Iranian oil sanctions

By Isabel Wang

Oil prices fell on hopes that more Iranian crude will hit the global market, as supplies have neared critically low levels

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Monday said the U.S. has authorized Iranian oil sales through August.

Oil prices fell on Monday, with the U.S. and international benchmarks settling at their lowest levels since the start of the Iran war, after the Treasury Department waived sanctions on Iranian oil for 60 days as part of an interim agreement to end the conflict in the Middle East.

The most active West Texas Intermediate crude-oil contract, for August delivery (CL00) (CLQ26), was off 2.6% to finish at $73.86 a barrel. That was the lowest settlement level since March 2 - the first trading day after the Iran war started on Feb. 28.

The U.S. benchmark has fallen for seven consecutive trading days and on Monday logged its longest losing streak since July 2025, according to Dow Jones Market Data.

The Brent crude contract for September delivery (BRNU26) was down 3.2% to $77.52 a barrel, also settling at its lowest level since the start of the conflict.

Oil traders reacted to encouraging signs that the world might avoid hitting a critically low level of crude supplies. That's mainly due to progress in peace talks between the U.S. and Iran over the weekend, although traffic through the Strait of Hormuz was still far below preconflict levels.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Monday that the U.S. has authorized Iranian oil sales through August following the "productive talks" in Switzerland, according to a post on X.

Also, in a joint statement early Monday, mediators Qatar and Pakistan said that the U.S. and Iran had agreed to "a road map towards reaching a final deal within 60 days."

Traffic through the world's most critical maritime chokepoint has increased since the U.S. and Iran signed a memorandum of understanding on June 17. Confirmed crossings rose sharply to 71 over the Juneteenth holiday weekend, according to data from marine-traffic tracking platform Kpler.

"While this marks a significant recovery from recent lows, volumes were still 14 crossings below the previous weekend and remained below precrisis norms," Kpler analysts Ana Subasic and Yuan Li wrote in a Monday client note. "Negotiations remained volatile over the weekend, even as the traffic recovery reflected the new interim framework."

The broader market cheered the sharp retreat in oil prices, with crude surrendering most of the gains triggered by the Iran war and approaching prewar levels. The U.S. national average for a gallon of regular gasoline dropped below $4 per gallon, to $3.9290 on Monday, according to the American Automobile Association.

But in the view of Fawad Razaqzada, global macro market analyst at StoneX, further downside in oil prices may be limited.

"Prior to the war, WTI was trading in the $65- to $66-per-barrel region, an area that could provide meaningful support if prices continue to retreat," he told MarketWatch on Monday. "But the disruptions affecting the Strait of Hormuz over recent months [have] created a significant imbalance between supply and demand, tightening global markets and reducing available inventories."

As a result, even if WTI returns to prewar levels, "don't expect it to continue heading south," Razaqzada said.

-Isabel Wang

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June 22, 2026 15:45 ET (19:45 GMT)

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