Oil prices fall as Trump plans Iran economic pressure

Oil prices fell on Monday as investors awaited details of a US plan to increase economic pressure on Iran, while Asian stock markets were mostly lower in early trading.

At around 0215 GMT, West Texas Intermediate was down 1.9 percent at $85.39 a barrel and Brent North Sea crude was down 1.8 percent at $92.68 a barrel.

US Treasury chief Scott Bessent was expected to give more details on Monday about a fresh push to isolate Iran's economy. President Donald Trump has described the planned operation as the “most crushing” financial campaign against Tehran.

The United States warned allies and China on Thursday to join Trump's campaign. Vice President JD Vance said the plan was a “delicate dance” because Iran would “try to apply economic pressure to us”. Bessent told CNBC that “many conversations are best to have in private”, but called on Beijing “to get with the programme”.

Asian stocks were mostly down. South Korea's Kospi fell 1.4 percent after Samsung Electronics said it had spent $80 billion buying back its own shares following weeks of turbulent trading.

Investors were also looking ahead to Nvidia's earnings report in a key week for artificial intelligence stocks. Alibaba said on Sunday that it planned to issue $10.2 billion in new shares in Hong Kong to fund its global AI plans.

Tokyo, Shanghai, Taipei and Wellington were lower. Sydney, Jakarta and Bangkok gained, while Manila and Kuala Lumpur were flat.

Markets were also watching this week's annual gathering of central bankers, economists and finance chiefs in Jackson Hole for signals on US monetary policy, after US borrowing costs rose and federal debt topped $40 trillion.