Brent crude's $4.71 slide to $98.83 a barrel drove a crude oil price drop to two-week lows on Monday as traders priced in a possible US-Iran peace deal. West Texas Intermediate also fell $4.57 to $92.03 a barrel, pressuring energy benchmarks and easing a rally built on Middle East supply fears.
Trump’s Iran remarks move crude
Donald Trump said on social media that his nuclear deal with Tehran would be “the exact opposite” of the 2015 agreement reached under Barack Obama. He also said, “if I make a deal with Iran, it will be a good and proper one,” after telling negotiators “not to rush into a deal.”
Saturday's announcement that a peace deal with Iran was largely negotiated, with final details still being discussed, gave the market a fresh reason to reassess supply risk. If those talks hold, the figures point to less immediate pressure on crude from the threat of disruption around the Middle East.
Brent and WTI reset lower
$98.83 for Brent and $92.03 for WTI both marked the lowest levels since 7 May, showing how quickly sentiment shifted after Trump linked the talks to a reopening of the strait of Hormuz. That route remains a key supply channel for Middle East oil, so even hints of a deal can move futures before any formal agreement is signed.
4.55% and 4.73% declines on the two benchmarks left traders with a clear split: any easing of regional tension pulls prices down, while any delay in the memorandum of understanding could hand back the risk premium. Trump said the final aspects and details were still being discussed and would be announced shortly.
Nikkei rises on supply hopes
3.2% gains in Japan's Nikkei 225 around 0145 GMT showed the same trade running through equities, where reopening the strait of Hormuz would reduce the chance of an oil shock that can hit importers hardest. The move followed Trump's Saturday statement and the market's read that a deal, if completed, would reshape energy flows more than it would change day-to-day demand.
2015 is the reference point traders are using to judge how far Trump may go, because he said his version would be the opposite of the Obama-era deal. For oil buyers and fuel-sensitive industries, the immediate question is whether those talks stay on track long enough to keep Brent near Monday's low rather than letting the geopolitical premium rebuild.
