Oil prices fell below $90 a barrel on Friday after President Trump called off planned strikes on Iran, saying a peace deal could be reached within days, the latest twist in a volatile week for crude markets.
In early European trade Friday, Brent crude dropped 2.2% to $88.39 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate futures fell 2% to $85.91 a barrel. Both benchmarks are headed for weekly losses of around 7%.
“The market reaction to the news was swift,” analysts at Deutsche Bank said. “The entire oil futures curve moved lower.”
Trump on Thursday had threatened to launch another wave of military strikes against Iran, saying the U.S. military would seize Kharg Island — Tehran’s main oil export hub — and assume total control of Iran’s oil and gas markets. Negotiations to gradually reopen the Strait of Hormuz and end the war had so far hit an impasse over Tehran’s nuclear program and financial-relief demands.
The decision to call off the strikes came after a pattern of rapid reversals in U.S. policy on Iran this spring, with previous threats of military action followed by pauses as diplomatic channels opened and closed. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, a broad gauge of market sentiment, closed at 50,848.75 on June 12, reflecting continued investor wariness amid the seesawing geopolitical signals.