NEW YORK, Aug. 6 (Xinhua) -- Oil prices rallied on Monday as the United States decided to resume sanctions against Iran.
The White House said in a statement Monday that the United States will reactivate a slew of sanctions on Iran's financial and industrial sectors beginning Tuesday.
The action, followed by another set of sanctions scheduled for November, will bring U.S. sanctions against Iran to the level on par with those prior to a major multilateral nuclear deal reached in 2015.
The first batch of sanctions target Tehran's purchase of U.S. banknotes, trade in gold and other precious metals, as well as the use of graphite, coal, aluminum and steel in industrial processes.
Another round of sanctions, to be reinstalled in November, will be on Iran's port, energy and shipping sectors, its petroleum-related transactions, and foreign transactions with the Central Bank of Iran, according to the statement.
Analysts said that renewed U.S. economic sanctions against Iran will begin to squeeze the country's crude exports in the coming months.
The West Texas Intermediate for September delivery rose 0.52 U.S. dollar to settle at 69.01 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude for October delivery added 0.54 dollar to 73.75 dollars a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange.
