Trump Delays Iran Strikes, Oil Prices Plummet Amid Geopolitical Tensions
The price of oil dropped sharply on Monday after President Trump announced that he was holding off on strikes against Iran, following a request from the country and other Middle Eastern governments. The decision to pause the strikes was contingent on a rapid deal being reached.
Iranian officials rejected suggestions that direct talks with Washington were underway, stating that separate discussions with Oman concerning the Strait of Hormuz were not linked to any third party. They also denied having plans to receive a US delegation or send their own negotiators abroad in the coming days.
The market's reaction to Trump's comments was brief and did little to alter the day's broader direction, with WTI trading between $77 and $80 per barrel and Brent trading between $82 and $85 per barrel. The underlying supply picture remains shaped less by OPEC+ policy than by whether oil can physically clear the world's most contested shipping lanes.
The OPEC+ decision to increase production by close to 190,000 barrels a day continues a pattern in which successive monthly quota hikes have failed to translate into meaningfully more oil reaching the market. Shipping data from Kpler showed transits through the Bab al-Mandeb Strait easing from Saturday into Sunday, while around 5 million barrels a day were moving through the Strait of Hormuz without transponder signals.