Global oil prices fell by more than 5% on Sunday evening after the US and Iran paused tit-for-tat strikes over the Strait of Hormuz. Brent opened at $91.87 in Asia, below the more than $100 per barrel that two weeks of hostilities had produced. Trump has not yet decided whether to resume the strikes.
Global oil prices fell by more than 5% on Sunday evening as the US and Iran paused tit-for-tat strikes after weeks of escalating violence over the Strait of Hormuz. Brent crude, the global benchmark, fell to $91.87 in opening trades in Asia as talks between mediators continued. Those two weeks of hostilities had driven oil up past $100 per barrel.
Prices extended their losses into Monday. Brent crude futures slipped $5.58, or 5.77%, to $91.20 by 2204 GMT, Reuters reported. US West Texas Intermediate crude traded at $84.40 a barrel, down $4.91, or 5.50%.
Reuters tied the move to Trump's pause on strikes after two weeks of attacks, which raised hopes of a diplomatic solution that may de-escalate the conflict in the Middle East. Mike Waltz, the US ambassador to the UN, said on Sunday that Trump was "giving the talks some space" before deciding whether to resume strikes. Both sides have been vying for control of the strait, the narrow waterway through which about a fifth of the world's oil and gas passed before the war.
The fall in oil, if sustained, will bring some relief to Trump barely 100 days out from midterm elections, in which the Republican Party is battling to retain control of both houses of Congress. The conflict's impact on petrol prices has weighed on his favourability ratings.
Sources: Financial Times, Investing.com
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