Oil prices fell on Tuesday a day after hitting four-month highs as the market focused on the impact of new U.S. sanctions on Russian oil exports to key buyers India and China.Brent futures were down 36 cents,

Oil-freight derivatives trading surged to the highest in at least a decade as the Biden administration’s sanctions on Russia continued to propel supertanker rates higher.

A fresh wave of U.S. sanctions against Russia’s oil industry threatened to disrupt global supplies, sending crude prices to their highest in more than four months.

Sweeping U.S. sanctions on Russia's oil industry will make it more expensive for Moscow to sell its oil and complicate sea-borne crude exports due to restrictions on tankers, analysts and traders said on Monday.

State-owned oil refiners in India, the top importer of seaborne Russian crude, believe the impact from the latest US sanctions may be temporary as Moscow finds workarounds, and the new Trump administration takes a softer line against the OPEC+ member.

Oil prices extended gains for a third session on Monday, with Brent rising above $80 a barrel to its highest in more than four months, as wider U.S. sanctions are expected to affect Russian crude exports to top buyers China and India.

U.S. and global benchmark crude-oil prices settled Monday at their highest since August as investors focused on the potential supply hit from further tightening of U.S. sanctions on Russia’s oil sector.