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Oil Price Today (August 25): Crude oil at $92 as investors digest US economic sanctions on Iran. What’s next for investors?
Brent crude futures were up 6 cents, or 0.1%, at $92.16 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was up 15 cents at $85.12. Both contracts fell more than 2% on Monday, with U.S. crude touching a one-week low as investors took profits following a rally over the previous two weeks.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Monday unveiled an expansion of sanctions aimed at cutting off Iran’s economic lifeline and forcing an end to the war between the two countries. He said countries would have to sever their business ties with Iran or risk being excluded from the dollar-based financial system.
Also read: ‘Economic D-Day’: US announces expansion of sanctions in ‘onslaught’ on Iran
Bessent did not identify the countries that would be targeted or say when the penalties would come into effect. He said countries would instead be given time to comply with the new directive.
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Monday that Washington would not rule out using military force against Iran. However, the U.S. is also turning towards greater economic pressure, which analysts said had eased concerns over threats to Middle Eastern oil supplies from the war.
Tensions remain, however. An oil tanker was struck by an unidentified projectile and disabled on Tuesday northeast of Oman’s Ash Shishah, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations said.Iran continues to insist that it should control the key Strait of Hormuz. Before the war began in February, the waterway typically carried cargoes equivalent to about 20% of global oil consumption. On Monday, Iran named 45 tankers that it said had violated its rules for crossing the strait and threatened action against them, including confiscating their cargoes.
Supply disruptions resulting from the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, which began on February 28, have led countries to draw down their commercial and strategic reserves.
Where are prices headed?
The duration of the disruption will be a key factor for crude prices. JPMorgan estimates that each additional month of disruption could add around $7 to $8 a barrel to Brent prices. If the disruption continues for three months, the bank expects average monthly Brent prices to reach around $114 a barrel.
Read more: Iran vows to retaliate after US widens sanctions
Goldman Sachs has also warned that Brent could climb to $120 a barrel if shipping disruptions through the Strait of Hormuz, the world’s most important oil transit route, persist.
At the same time, Goldman Sachs expects tensions in the Middle East to eventually ease under its base case. The bank forecasts Brent to average $80 a barrel in the fourth quarter and $75 a barrel next year. It said risks remained tilted to the upside, with disruptions through the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea potentially lasting longer than expected.
(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times)
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Target has apologized for a circus clown Halloween costume that critics accused of evoking Blackface and 19th-century minstrel shows following online backlash.
The costume was sold as the “Kids’ Glows Under Blacklight Circus Clown Halloween Costume,” according to the since-deleted listing. The costume was sold as part of the retailer’s seasonal Hyde and EEK Boutique brand.
Target removed the “offensive” costume and said that it should never have been featured in its stores.
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Target has apologized for a circus clown Halloween costume that critics accused of evoking Blackface and 19th-century minstrel shows. (REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo / Reuters Photos)
“As a company, we know we got this wrong, and we are deeply sorry. The costume is offensive and should never have been part of our assortment. It is no longer available for sale,” company spokesperson Brian Harper-Tibaldo said in a statement to FOX Business.
“We know this is especially hurtful for our Black guests, team members and partners. Removing the costume is an important first step, and the company is looking closely at how this happened and what needs to change to ensure this won’t happen again,” he continued.
The move to pull the costume comes after social media backlash in which critics accused the Minneapolis-based retailer of selling racist merchandise.
The costume was sold as the “Kids’ Glows Under Blacklight Circus Clown Halloween Costume.” (iStock / iStock)
“You really don’t have anyone left in Minneapolis to say, ‘Hey, that’s racist’? Y’all cut DEI and now you’ve got a minstrel clown costume for kids on your website,” one user said on Threads.
This comes on the heels of several reputational hits for the retailer that have hurt sales in recent years, including Target’s handling of its Pride Collection in 2023 and its rollback of diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives after President Donald Trump returned to the White House.
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Target removed the “offensive” costume and said that it should never have been featured in its stores. ( Daniel Acker/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)
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Target joined a broad corporate effort to scale back diversity initiatives after Trump issued a series of executive orders aimed at rooting out DEI.
The retailer scaled back initiatives aimed at increasing representation of Black employees and supporting Black-owned businesses and suppliers, saying it needed to stay in step with “the evolving external landscape.” The reversal drew backlash from some Black consumers and business owners who had supported or benefited from Target’s diversity efforts.
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A detailed view of a hand holding a Fanduel Sports Network branded microphone during an interview after the Detroit Pistons defeated the Boston Celtics at Little Caesars Arena on February 26, 2025 in Detroit, Michigan.
Nic Antaya | Getty Images
Main Street Sports, the now-defunct owner of a portfolio of regional sports networks, is suing cable companies Comcast and Charter Communications in separate lawsuits for what it alleges are underpaid licensing fees.
The company that began its winddown earlier this year is alleging that Comcast and Charter — the two largest pay TV providers in the U.S. — breached their contracts and underpaid Main Street in the earlier part of 2026 when its networks were still delivering NBA and NHL games to local markets across the country, according to the lawsuits, which were seen by CNBC.
The suits were filed in Delaware Superior Court on Monday. Representatives for Comcast and Charter didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
Main Street, the entity that originated as Fox Sports networks, has been through a series of owners since 2019, as well as several name changes. The company emerged from bankruptcy protection in early 2025, when its channels took on the name of FanDuel Sports Network. It had about 15 channels, and at one point after its bankruptcy exit aired games for about 30 teams across Major League Baseball, the National Hockey League and the National Basketball Association.
However, despite touting subscriber growth as recently as the spring, Main Street continued to face liquidity issues when its MLB fees payments were due, CNBC previously reported. The company had long been weighed down by a heavy debt load.
The issues led to its inevitable winddown. While it aired its final local MLB games in 2025, the company aired the entirety of the NBA regular season, as well as the NHL regular season and first round of playoffs this year.
Problems have been piling up for regional sports networks as the pay TV bundle continues to bleed subscribers.
Regional sports networks were once a lucrative business model for teams and leagues, as the channels pay high fees to air local games that trickle down to team payrolls. However the proliferation of cord cutting has led many pay TV distributors to rework their agreements with these channels.
Even the direct-to-consumer streaming offerings for these networks have been in a state of change. Last month, two of New York’s independently owned regional sports networks left their own streaming app for a deal to be distributed by streaming platform DAZN.
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Something new might appear in your change when you pay in cash from now on: a 10p coin featuring the portrait of King Charles and the world’s largest grouse.
Sufficient demand for the coins mean newly-minted 10p pieces are entering circulation for the first time for about four years, this time with a new design.
The Royal Mint says shoppers and collectors should discover the coins, which were minted and dated in 2023 and 2026, across the country.
The reverse side of the coin depicts an image of the capercaillie which is found in a small part of Scotland and threatened with extinction.
The redesigned suite of coins to celebrate the King’s love of the natural world were unveiled in October 2023 by The Royal Mint.
The tails side of every newly-minted coin from the 1p to the £2 now features the country’s flora and fauna – from bees to an oak tree leaf.
Coins in circulation in the UK carrying the portrait of King Charles have so far been limited to the 5p, 50p and £1.
Old coins with the image of the late Queen Elizabeth II can still be used, so the new coins are only struck in response to demand.
That is why, with 1.4 billion 10p coins in circulation, there has been no need for the new 10p to be released until now by The Royal Mint.
Now. 600,000 of these coins, dated 2023, and 6.5 million dated 2026 have been released to banks and post offices nationwide.
However, King Charles III coins still only represent about 1% of the 24.1 billion coins in circulation across the UK, making any new ones highly sought after by seasoned numismatists and new coin collectors.
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