As US and Iran announce conditional ceasfire, global oil prices fall

By
Ziraat Times
-

Follow Ziraat Times on Whatsapp - Join Now

News agencies

Global oil prices have fallen sharply and stock markets have jumped after the US and Iran agreed a conditional two-week ceasefire deal that includes the reopening of the key Strait of Hormuz waterway.

The price of benchmark Brent crude fell by about 15.9% to $92.30 (£68.87) a barrel, while US-traded oil was almost 16.5% lower at $93.80.

But prices remain higher than before the conflict started on 28 February. At the time oil was trading at around $70 a barrel.

The cost of energy has jumped as oil and gas supplies from the Middle East have been severely disrupted after Iran threatened to attack ships trying to use the strait in retaliation for US and Israeli airstrikes.

Major stock indexes in the Asia-Pacific region rose in Wednesday morning trading. Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained by 4.5% while South Korea’s Kospi exchange jumped by 5.5%.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was up by 2.8%, while the ASX 200 in Australia gained 2.5%.

US stock market futures also pointed to a higher open for Wall Street stocks.

Futures contracts are an agreement to buy an asset at an agreed price at a later point in time. In the case of US stock stock futures they can indicate the direction of the market before it opens.

In a social media post on Tuesday evening, Trump said: “I agree to suspend the bombing and attack of Iran for a period of two weeks… subject to the Islamic Republic of Iran agreeing to the COMPLETE, IMMEDIATE, and SAFE OPENING of the Strait of Hormuz”.

He had set a deadline for 20:00 EDT on Tuesday (00:00 GMT on Wednesday), threatening that “a whole civilisation will die tonight” if no deal was reached.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on social media that Tehran will agree to a ceasefire “if attacks against Iran are halted”, adding that safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz “will be possible”.

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR

88 COMMENTS

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here