After U.S. Central Command announced new strikes against Iran, Brent Crude jumped over 3.2% to $76.48-$76.54 per barrel. U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate similarly jumped 3.2% to around $72.72 per barrel. The situation worsened after Trump declared the ceasefire with Iran “over” while speaking at the NATO Summit in Ankara, Turkey, sending Brent above $78 per barrel and WTI to around $74.50 per barrel.
Overall, Brent Crude shot up 5.7%, while WTI jumped 5.8%.
Ipek Ozkardeskaya of Swissquote said in a commentary that the next few hours would be decisive in determining markets, ABC News reported.
“As such, geopolitical headlines will likely determine market sentiment over the coming hours. A further deterioration in the situation could weigh further on equity valuations along with rising stress in technology,” she said.
The oil price spike came after Trump went so far as to declare the ceasefire over after the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps launched new strikes against commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, a statement he’d carefully held back from ever since the April ceasefire.
“To me, I think it’s over. I don’t want to deal with them anymore. They’re scum, do you know what scum is?… They’re led by sick people. … I’ll speak to our negotiators. They want to negotiate — they’re good people … but they have to come back to me. As far as I’m concerned, it’s just a waste of time dealing with them,” Trump told reporters.
TRUMP SAYS IRAN CEASEFIRE IS ‘OVER’: ‘THEY’RE SCUM. THEY’RE SICK PEOPLE’
“There’s something wrong with them, they’re cuckoo,” he added, also calling them “liars” and “cheats.”
If the ceasefire ends, Iran is near certain to close the Strait of Hormuz again, quickly erasing the decline in oil prices since last month when the memorandum of understanding was signed.
