Early on Tuesday, WTI crude oil prices fell lower over continued tensions over global trade disputes. However, a crisis brewing in the Middle East served to support oil prices from declining too much.

At the time of writing, WTI crude oil is trading at $57.43 per barrel. As the US-China trade war drags on, with no updates towards resolution, economic data from around the world is weakening, causing worries of a slowdown in demand for oil in global markets.

At the same time, record production of shale in the US continues to weigh on oil prices from the supply side, offsetting any possible tightening resulting from extension of curbs in Crude production by OPEC and its allies.

On Monday, Iran warned that it was planning to restart deactivated centrifuges and increase its uranium enrichment to 20%, a move that is sure to increase tensions between the US and Iran. The US had pulled out of a nuclear accord with Iran and other countries over Iran’s alleged use of nuclear resources for military purposes.