Oil prices fell sharply on Monday, with Brent crude dropping more than 3 percent to below $95 a barrel, after President Donald Trump said he was highly unlikely to order new strikes on Iran while talks to end the conflict make progress.
Front-month Brent crude, the global benchmark, fell 3.5 percent to $94.93 a barrel in morning trading, according to The Wall Street Journal. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude fell 3 percent to $88.13 a barrel.
Steepest weekly drop since the pandemic
The slide extends a brutal week for oil. Brent fell 16 percent last week, its steepest weekly decline since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, Reuters reported.
Trump told CNN on Sunday that further U.S. strikes on Iran were “highly unlikely” as long as negotiations over Tehran’s nuclear programme and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz made progress. His comments eased fears of a wider war that had pushed oil sharply higher in late October.
Even so, risks to supply have not gone away. Attacks on ships near the Strait of Hormuz have kept supply concerns in focus, Reuters reported, and oil prices remain far above where they stood before the conflict began.
What it means for ordinary people
If the slide holds, drivers should eventually see cheaper petrol and diesel, and lower oil prices would ease pressure on heating costs and inflation. The U.S. consumer price index, due on Tuesday, is the next big test of that trend.
But pump prices move with a lag, and one day’s trading does not set the trend: a single new incident in the Gulf could send prices back up.
Stock futures rose on Monday, with Dow futures up about 1.1 percent and S&P 500 futures up about 0.9 percent, while gold climbed above $4,100 an ounce as investors moved into havens.
Sources: Reuters; The Wall Street Journal; Morningstar/Dow Jones Newswires.
