May 6 (UPI) -- Global oil prices fell sharply and financial markets rallied Wednesday after U.S. President Donald Trump paused a military operation to reopen the Hormuz Strait to commercial shipping to give advanced peace talks with Iran a chance to deliver "a complete and final deal."
Falls in Brent crude of more than $10 a barrel to $99, American crude by $13 to $92 a barrel and rallies in Asian stock markets overnight that fed into Europe when bourses opened there failed to feed through to U.S. gas prices, which jumped 5 cents a gallon to their highest level of the war.
AAA motor club figures showed a national average of $4.54 for a gallon of petrol and $5.67 for diesel, meaning drivers were paying 53% and 51% more than before the war started on Feb. 28, with the caveat that fuel price adjustments normally lag crude oil price movements by several days.
The White House believes a draft one-page, 14-point memorandum of understanding to end the war and create a structure for more in-depth nuclear talks could succeed in breaking the deadlock, two U.S. officials and two other sources said.
An Iranian foreign ministry spokesman confirmed to CNBC that Iran was in receipt of the U.S. proposal and was "evaluating it."
