Oil Prices Spike on Pezeshkian's Vow Not to Surrender
Oil prices saw significant gains on Wednesday, rising nearly 4% as investors reacted to Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian's vow not to surrender to the US. Pezeshkian made the statement during a speech at the UN General Assembly in New York, where he also expressed support for diplomacy with Washington.
However, prices were mixed as traders evaluated the impact of rising supplies from the Gulf region and hopes for a peace deal between the US and Iran. On Tuesday, Saudi Arabia resumed operations on its East-West Pipeline to the Red Sea after drone attacks forced it to shut down earlier in September.
The Brent benchmark hit its lowest since September 8 at $97.36 on Tuesday, while WTI touched its lowest since September 1. Analysts and market watchers have warned that a diesel export ban proposed by the Trump administration would do little to ease high energy prices and could worsen global supplies and further disrupt economies.
US Energy Secretary Chris Wright earlier expressed skepticism about the effectiveness of such a ban, saying it 'would not work.' Ultra-low-sulfur diesel futures were down around 5% after Politico reported the Trump administration's plans for a 90-day ban.