Oil prices steady as investors weigh impact of expanded US sanctions against Iran

would not rule out using military force against Iran, the ​country is turning towards more economic coercion, which analysts said removed concerns about threats to Middle Eastern ​oil supply because of the war.

Iran still maintains that it should control the Strait of Hormuz, which, before the war started in February, typically carried cargoes accounting for about 20% of global oil trade.

On Monday, the Department of Energy reported that stocks of crude oil in the U.