Live updates: US-Iran war news; US signals pause in Iran strikes will allow talks to progress
Global oil prices fell sharply on Monday after a pause in fighting between the United States and Iran, though traders remain wary.
Brent, the global benchmark, had declined 6.7% to trade at $90 a barrel by 3.37 a.m. ET. Meanwhile, WTI, the US benchmark, had dropped 6.1% to $84 a barrel around the same time.
Strikes between the US and Iran appear to have paused following nearly two weeks of fighting that brought an agreed 60-day ceasefire to an effective collapse.
Despite the halt in hostilities, ship traffic through the Strait of Hormuz over the weekend was minimal. Fewer than 10 commodity ships passed through the waterway, according to shipping data tracked by CNN. Around 100 commercial vessels traversed the strait on a typical day before the war.
Oil traders are doubly wary given the threat of attacks on Saudi tankers by Iran-backed Houthi rebels in the Bab al-Mandeb Strait at the base of the Red Sea.
In a note on Monday, Deutsche Bank analysts said Houthi attacks raise “the prospect of simultaneous disruption to both Gulf and Red Sea export routes.”
“So (there’s a) welcome pause from the main actors but a fragile one, especially with side battles going on,” they wrote.
Stock markets rose on Monday. In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 index closed up 0.5% while South Korea’s Kospi and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng both finished 1% higher. Europe’s benchmark Stoxx 600 index was up 0.5% by 4.41 a.m. ET.
US futures were pointing higher, with the Dow and S&P 500 both up 0.9% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq up 1.6%.
