Oil futures fell sharply on Tuesday as a freshly announced Iran-Israel ceasefire began to allay investor concerns over supply and shipping disruptions in the oil-rich Middle East.
The Ice Brent contract with August expiry was trading at $69.76 per barrel at 09:09 a.m. London time, down 2.41% from the previous session. The front-month August Nymex WTI contract was at $66.85 per barrel, 2.42% lower from the Monday settlement.
Oil prices had added roughly 10% over the mid-June start of Iran-Israel hostilities that were exacerbated in recent days by U.S.′ direct military involvement and Iran’s retaliatory strike against an American base in Qatar. Crude futures eased following U.S. President Donald Trump’s overnight announcement of an Iran-Israel ceasefire despite lingering questions over implementation and the future of Tehran’s nuclear program — the key cause of the recent hostilities cited by Israel and the U.S.
At risk throughout the offensives were supply in both Iran — which produced 3.3 million barrels per day in May, according to OPEC’s monthly oil market report released in June, which cites independent analyst sources — and the broader Middle East region, if the conflict spilled over.
