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Hello, this is Leonie Kidd writing to you from London. Welcome to another edition of CNBC’s Daily Open.
Sometimes, two things can be true at the same time. But U.S. President Donald Trump’s declaration that he wants to “take Iran’s oil,” while saying a “peace deal could be made fairly quickly” has left markets seeing the glass half empty in early trading this Monday.
The build up of U.S. troops for a potential ground invasion also confuses the news that face-to-face talks could be just days away. A confusing picture for investors, who seem to have chosen to stay broadly risk averse at the start of the week.
“My favorite thing is to take the oil in Iran.” So says U.S. President Donald Trump, as he outlines a potential escalation in the war with Iran that could involve seizing Iran’s energy export hub, Kharg Island. In comments to the Financial Times on Sunday, he compared the action in Iran to the U.S. military operation in Venezuela, but he added that indirect talks with Iran were progressing and that “a deal could be made fairly quickly.”
