August 25, 2026

Iran warned it would respond to the expansion of US sanctions, in a trading session marked by falling oil prices

International

The Secretary of the Treasury of the United States, Scott Bessent, announced yesterday an expansion of sanctions on Iran, which reached 60 individuals, entities and vessels, and warned of excluding from the dollar financial system those who continue to trade with the Persian country. The measure did not include Chinese financial entities linked to the Iranian oil trade, and Washington did not set an implementation deadline. In response, Iran's Economy Minister Ali Madanizadeh said the country is "fully prepared" for sanctions and warned that "enemies should expect an attack." Despite this, oil fell during the session, after the strong rebound of the previous week, and Brent is trading lower this morning, close to USD 88 a barrel.

For their part, US Treasury bond yields compressed slightly yesterday, settling at 4.01% for the 1-year term, unchanged from Friday, while the 3-year tranche closed at 4.30%, just below the previous 4.31%, and the 10-year yield closed at 4.70%, also below the previous 4.73%.

The main US stock indices had a mixed day yesterday: the S&P 500 lost -0.3%, the Nasdaq lost -0.8%, and the Dow Jones advanced +0.3%. Thus, so far this year, the indices have accumulated variations of +11.8%, +11.8% and +11.1%, respectively.

Finally, commodities moved mostly downwards yesterday: oil fell despite the escalation between the United States and Iran, in a round of profit-taking after the strong rebound of the previous week and amid market skepticism about the real scope of the new sanctions. The barrel of WTI fell -2.4%, and closed at USD 85.01, while Brent lost -2.4%, to USD 92.17. For its part, gold rose +1.1%, to USD 4,652.22 per ounce, while soybeans fell -0.7%, to USD 446.76 per ton.

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