Oil Falls Below $100 on Hopes of an Iran Deal
Brent crude settled down nearly 9% at under $95 a barrel, below $100 for the first time in about a month, as Democrats' control of Congress raised expectations that Washington will move to end the war with Iran.
An oil products tanker alongside the quay at Fremantle Harbour, Australia, November 2024.Illustration by The Good Times, based on a photo by Calistemon / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Brent crude, the world benchmark, fell nearly 9% to settle at $94.62 a barrel, its first close below $100 in about a month, and U.S. crude fell about 8% to settle at $88.12 a barrel. Democrats won control of the House and Senate, and traders bet that will push President Donald Trump toward a deal with Iran. Vice President JD Vance blamed the Republican losses on the war. "The reason we lost is the war. The president himself said so last night," he wrote on X. "Everyone knows why we lost." Trump told the Financial Times the United States has no immediate plans to strike Iran. Iran's parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, wrote that American voters "said NO TO WAR." Stocks climbed, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose about 1,500 points. U.S. crude inventories fell by 865,000 barrels last week, the Energy Information Administration said. Brent's previous close was $103.60 a barrel.
Brent futures settled at $94.62 a barrel, down $8.98, or 8.7%, according to the Chinese financial wire Jin10 and the market news service LiveSquawk. West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. benchmark, settled at $88.12, down $7.97, or 8.3%, NBC News and the Japanese financial news service Minkabu reported. Brent had settled at $103.60 in the previous session, its lowest close since Oct. 7. The drop took it below $100 for the first time since that date.
Democrats won control of the House and the Senate in Tuesday's elections. Vance said in his post that the war was the main reason Republicans lost, and he listed ending the war among the changes the party should make.
Trump told the Financial Times the United States has no immediate plans to strike Iran.
U.S. crude inventories fell by 865,000 barrels last week, according to the Energy Information Administration.
Stocks rallied. The Dow rose about 1,500 points and the S&P 500 gained 1.8%, according to the AP and Benzinga.