Shares of energy companies fell amid renewed anticipation of a peace deal between the U.S. and Iran.
New York-traded oil futures slid 5.7% to $98.26 a barrel. President Donald Trump told reporters that negotiations with Iran were in their "final stages." Separately, there were reports that President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a contentious call Tuesday evening, with Netanyahu railing against a pact to end the war with Iran and Trump defending the diplomatic process.
In an illustration of how critical the potential reopening of the Strait of Hormuz would be for energy markets, the Energy Information Administration estimated that commercial crude oil stocks excluding the Strategic Petroleum Reserve were down by 7.9 million barrels at 445 million barrels in the week ended May 15, and are now 2% below the five-year average for the time of year.
Write to Rob Curran at rob.curran@dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
