Oil prices fall as Trump downplays need for military action against Iran
Oil prices fell on Tuesday after US President Donald Trump said military action against Iran was not needed "at this point". Brent crude traded near $91 a barrel, with both main contracts down about 20% this month.
For information only, not investment advice. Prices change quickly: check the time and source of every figure.
- Brent crude fell to about $91.36–$91.88 a barrel on Tuesday, depending on the report.
- US West Texas Intermediate dropped to between $85.47 and $86.07.
- Both main contracts have lost around 20% this month, Euronews reported.
- Investors are hopeful that US-Iran talks will end the seven-month conflict.
Oil prices extended their losses on Tuesday after US President Donald Trump downplayed the need for military action against Iran, easing fears of lasting supply disruption in the Middle East, according to Arab News and Euronews.
Arab News reported that Brent crude futures declined 70 cents, or 0.75%, to $91.88 a barrel by 05:46 am Saudi time. US West Texas Intermediate futures fell 78 cents, or 0.90%, to $86.07. Both benchmarks had been down 1% earlier in the session.
Euronews, reporting later in the morning, put Brent down 1.31% at $91.36 a barrel and West Texas Intermediate down 1.59% at $85.47. It said both main contracts have lost around 20% this month.
Trump said on Monday there was positive momentum toward ending the war after he met Qatar's prime minister at the White House. He said: "I had an excellent conversation with Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani." He added that "much was discussed with respect to the Islamic Republic of Iran".
Arab News reported that Trump said the Iran war is militarily effectively over after the talks. Euronews said that before last week's midterm elections, expectations had grown that Trump would resume strikes on Iran this month.
Since then, Trump has talked down a resumption of strikes while leaving the door open to them. Euronews reported that he said the US was locked and loaded, but that further strikes were quite unlikely because key Gulf allies would prefer the status quo. He earlier told CNN that renewed fighting was highly unlikely.
The conflict between the US and Iran is seven months old. Euronews said it has sent inflation soaring and forced central banks to raise interest rates.
Background
khabr.pk reported on 2 November that Brent traded near $109 a barrel as Qatar-mediated talks raised hopes of a deal, and on 3 November that it fell to $103.20. On 6 November Brent was between $98.29 and $99.90 after rebounding from a near two-month low. On 9 November khabr.pk reported Trump saying new strikes were highly unlikely if talks keep progressing.
Why it matters for Pakistan
Pakistan's petrol price was Rs346 a litre and high-speed diesel Rs378 a litre on 7 November, according to khabr.pk records. Lower crude prices feed into petrol price decisions in Pakistan, which affect transporters, commuters and households that buy fuel.
