Oil closed with a sharp drop this Monday (15), with the WTI operating in the US$80 per barrel rangeas the war in the Middle East approaches a tentative end. US President Donald Trump also confirmed the full reopening of the Strait of Hormuz starting next Friday.
Traded on the New York Mercantile Exchange (Nymex), the WTI oil for July closed down 4.86% (US$4.13), at US$80.75 a barrel.
Brent oil for August, traded on London’s Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), closed down 4.76% (US$4.16), at US$83.17 per barrel.
A commodity started the week with a sharp drop after Trumpand Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif confirmed on Sunday that the United States and Iran have reached a ceasefire agreement. THE truce paves the way for new negotiations over the next 60 days that couldultimately, definitively end the war.
According to Trump, the pact is about to be officially signed in Switzerland and the “toll” in Hormuz will be exempt from charging for at least 60 days and there will be “strict policing” over Tehran and its nuclear program.
On the Iranian side, the spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Esmail Baghaei, stated that details of the diplomatic aspects of the agreement with the US will be released soon, as soon as they are finalized, and that a travel plan for some countries in the region and neighbors is on the agenda before the official signing ceremony of the pact in Geneva.
The final agreement would authorize the removal of US sanctions on Iran and the release of an additional US$12 billion in frozen assets, while Tehran would commit not to pursue a nuclear weapon. President Donald Trump told the New York Times that Iran could enrich uranium to a level that would serve only “non-military purposes.”
“While the agreement is very good news for markets, it appears difficult conversations will have to take place in the 60-day window to ensure peace is sustainable,” wrote Deutsche Bank global strategist Jim Reid. He noted that U.S. Senate approval would be required for sanctions relief on Iran.
