Oil prices steadied in Asian trading on Tuesday, after falling in the previous session, as investors continued to assess the risk from geopolitical concerns in the Middle East.Both benchmarks fell 29 cents in the previous session on signs that a recent escalation of tensions between Israel and Iran had little near-term impact on oil supplies from the region.However, analysts noted a multitude of risks remain in the oil market. ANZ analysts highlighted U.S. approval of new sanctions on Iran's oil sector that broaden current sanctions to include foreign ports, vessels and refineries that knowingly process or ship Iranian crude.

"The geopolitical backdrop is still very fraught with so many risks at the moment, so clearly we're going to see a lot of volatility until there's a lot more clarity around it," ANZ analysts said in a podcast.U.S. crude oil inventories are expected to have increased last week while refined product stockpiles likely fell, according to a preliminary Reuters poll of analysts.