Oil Falls to April Lows on Trump Signals
by Bloomberg | M. Gindis, A. Longley, G. Levin
click here to read this article at Rigzone.com
*this article was not written by Roseland Oil & Gas
Oil plunged to the lowest since April after US President Donald Trump said that he called off an imminent military escalation against Iran and signaled that a peace deal is not far off, fueling bets for an end to the war that’s disrupted global energy shipments.
Brent crude, the global benchmark, fell to $89.46 a barrel, the lowest since mid-April, before settling near $90. Trump said in a social media post that he “cancelled the scheduled strikes,” walking back earlier threats to seize the Kharg Island oil terminal that is vital for Tehran’s exports.
Trump suggested that the US is getting close to a deal with Iran, noting that “discussions and final points have been, in both concept and great detail, approved by all parties involved.” Meanwhile, Iran’s semi-official Fars reported Thursday that Tehran has not yet approved any text for an agreement with the US, citing a source familiar with the negotiations.
European natural gas futures dropped as much as 4% alongside oil. The Strait of Hormuz was the chokepoint for about a fifth of the world’s seaborne oil gas cargoes before the conflict led to a near-halt in shipping out of the Persian Gulf.
Trump’s comments marked the latest in a series of conflicting messages from Washington about the status of negotiations, which has often flipped between threatening Iran to touting a peace deal — sometimes within a matter of hours.
The back-and-forth messages from the Trump administration have been “constraining oil traders’ ability to confidently deploy risk in the market,” said Frank Monkam, head of cross asset macro strategy and trading at Buffalo Bayou Commodities.
“However, this strategy is at risk of decaying the closer we get to full inventory depletion,” he added.
Oil prices are down by more than a quarter from their Iran-conflict peak, even as a lasting peace deal has remained elusive. Investors have navigated extreme volatility in recent months as protracted negotiations between the US and Iran yielded little progress toward reopening the Strait of Hormuz.
In recent sessions, crude trading remained subdued with many dealers forced to dial back risk exposure. Open interest in Brent fell to its lowest level since March 2025, a sign that investors were being forced to the sidelines.
Traders also attribute the recent price slide to ample workarounds that have helped to keep global oil supplies from cratering. A growing number of oil tankers are moving through the Strait of Hormuz, boosting the flow from a trickle to a stream. Trump said on Wednesday that more than 100 million barrels have now crossed the waterway since a secret US mission began supporting maritime trade in the region.
Earlier on Thursday, the United Arab Emirates and Iran met face-to-face for the first time since the start of the US-Israeli war against Tehran, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar. A dialog between the longtime regional rival signals a growing push among Gulf states to end the conflict through diplomacy.
Still, there are signs that in parts of the world global oil inventories are drawing dramatically, underscoring that not all of the market’s workarounds can last.
In the US, crude stockpiles including strategic reserves dropped by 15 million barrels last week. They’re down by more than 70 million barrels over the last five weeks, a decline of more than two million barrels a day that’s the biggest in data since the 1980s. Fuel inventories in Singapore are also at the lowest level since 2013.
Oil Prices
Oil fell sharply after Trump signaled progress toward a potential peace deal with Iran.
- WTI for July delivery fell 2.6% to settle at $87.71 in New York.
- Brent for August settled at $90.38 a barrel, dipping 2.9%.
by Bloomberg | M. Gindis, A. Longley, G. Levin
click here to read this article at Rigzone.com
*this article was not written by Roseland Oil & Gas