Brent crude oil fell as much as 1.6%, while major stock indexes in Japan, South Korea and Taiwan rose.
Published June 18, 2026
Oil prices fell after the United States and Iran signed an interim peace deal, resuming a decline that was interrupted by US President Donald Trump’s warning that he could resume military operations.
In Asia, Brent crude fell 1.9% on Thursday morning, with international benchmarks back to levels from almost 24 hours ago.
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Brent futures for August delivery were at $78.07 as of 4:30 p.m. Japan time, only about 7% higher than before the U.S. and Israel began their war against Iran on Feb. 28.
After several days of declines, Brent soared above $81 a barrel at one point on Wednesday after President Donald Trump warned that if the U.S. didn’t “act” on Iran, it could “go right back to dropping bombs.”
Asian stock markets rebounded on renewed optimism that the deal would end nearly four months of disruption to global energy supply chains.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 and South Korea’s Kospi both hit record highs, rising more than 2% and 1.7%, respectively.
Taiwan’s Thai trade rose by up to 1.3%.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index bucked this trend, falling 1.7%.
U.S. stock futures, which are traded outside of normal market hours and often predict the next day’s performance, rose, with stock futures indexes tracking the benchmark S&P 500 index and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index rising about 0.8% and 1.3%, respectively.
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who mediated the negotiations between the US and Iran, said on Wednesday that the US-Iran Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) had entered into force with “immediate effect”.
Sharif said Iran would “immediately reopen” the Strait of Hormuz and the United States would lift its naval blockade of Iranian ports “immediately,” but it was not immediately clear whether the announcements had any effect on facilitating maritime traffic in the vital waterway.
The threat of Iranian missiles, drones and mines, as well as the U.S. blockade, have reduced shipping through the strait to a fraction of peacetime levels.
It is estimated that more than 500 ships are waiting to exit the Gulf through the strait, but shipping companies have expressed concern that it is unclear how to ensure the safety of ships and crews in the strait.
The Baltic and International Maritime Council (BIMCO), one of the world’s largest shipowner associations, said in a statement earlier this week that the United States and Iran had not yet provided information on “key aspects such as timing and safe routes.”
BIMCO’s chief safety and security officer, Jakob Larsen, responded to the initial publication of the memorandum, saying in a statement on Monday: “Due to the lack of detail and the overly optimistic reassurances we have made, we believe the security situation in the shipping industry remains precarious and it remains extremely dangerous for ships to begin transiting at this time.”
“We advise shipowners to continue thorough risk assessments and call on all stakeholders to put seafarer safety first.”
