Oil prices plunge as US-Iran conflict pauses
Photo: Oil prices have fallen (Getty Images)
Oil prices plummeted by more than five percent after the US and Iran suspended military strikes over the weekend. However, shipping in key straits is resuming very slowly, according to Reuters.
Oil prices plummeted on markets
Brent crude futures fell by $5.70, or about 5.9 percent, to $91.08 per barrel. Earlier during the trading session, the price briefly dipped below the $90 mark.
The price of US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell by $4.80, or about 5.4 percent, to $84.51 per barrel.
- Both contracts are trading at their lowest levels in nearly a week;
- Before this, oil prices had been rising for three consecutive weeks.
What caused pause
US Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz stated that US President Donald Trump had decided to suspend the attacks to allow more time for diplomacy.
According to Kpler, fewer than ten commercial vessels passed through the Strait of Hormuz each day over the weekend.
On the eve of the price drop, it became known that Trump had suspended a planned large-scale operation against Iran due to a shortage of Patriot interceptor missiles.
US military officials attributed the decision to a shortage of air defense systems, although the US President himself publicly denies there is a problem with ammunition supplies.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that Iran was already participating in the war against Ukraine by supplying Russia with Shahed drones and the technology to produce them.
According to him, Kyiv is trying to avoid opening a new front but is prepared for an escalation of threats from Tehran.
