Oil prices fell on Wednesday as investors assessed US President Donald Trump’s willingness to exit the Iran conflict within weeks, even as the Strait of Hormuz remains largely closed.
US West Texas Intermediate Crude Oil in May Delivered prices fell 1.24% ($1.26) to close at $100.12 per barrel. Brent contract due in June It fell 2.82% ($2.93) to trade around $101.04 per barrel.
Global oil benchmarks soared more than 60% last month in the strongest monthly rise since 1988. The May contract settled about 5% higher at $118.35 per barrel on Tuesday.
Oil prices fell after President Trump appeared to declare victory Tuesday night, saying he expected the U.S. military to wind down operations against Iran within “two to three weeks.”
President Trump told reporters at the White House: “There’s no reason to do so, so we’re leaving.” “I’ll be leaving soon.”
President Trump also rejected the idea that a negotiated deal needed to be reached to end the war, saying, “Iran doesn’t need a deal…It’s a new administration. They’re much more accessible.” He also claimed to have prevented Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.
Late Tuesday, White House press secretary Caroline Levitt said in a post to
brent crude oil price
Since the war began on February 28, the US and Israeli operations against Iran have caused severe energy supply disruptions, causing anxiety throughout the global economy, which relies heavily on Middle Eastern oil.
Iran has effectively halted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. The Strait of Hormuz is a key waterway connecting the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, and before the outbreak of war, typically carried 20% of the world’s oil flows.
While global markets await President Trump’s comments later Wednesday, military hostilities continue. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards announced it would begin attacks on U.S. companies in the region starting Wednesday, listing 18 companies, including: google, microsoft, apple, intel, IBM, tesla and boeing.
An Iranian drone targeted a fuel tank at Kuwait International Airport on Wednesday, causing a massive fire and damage to the tank, local media in Kuwait reported, citing civil aviation authorities.
“Trump remains in limbo, and leaving now would be admitting defeat,” said Michael Ferrer, co-founder of the Geopolitical Strategy think tank. He added that destroying civilian infrastructure, as Trump threatened earlier this week, “will not change anything except push oil prices even higher.”
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told Al Jazeera on Tuesday that messages had been exchanged with the United States either directly or through regional countries, but they did not constitute “negotiations.”
“As always, we are receiving direct messages from Witkoff (US envoy), but this does not mean we are negotiating,” he said. “There is no truth to the claim that we are negotiating with any party in Iran. All messages are transmitted through or received by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and there are also communications between security agencies,” he said.
