Oil falls below $100 per barrel as Trump says Iran talks are in final stages

Listen, if the Dark Lord says were close to a deal, we're close to a deal. I believe him.

No, excuse I am NOT retarded! And I deeply resent being characterized that way.

Oil falls below $100 per barrel as Trump says Iran talks are in final stages

West Texas Intermediate dropped nearly 6% on Wednesday after Trump said negotiations with Tehran are nearly complete

By Cris Tolomia, Quartz Media

Published 18 hours ago

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Oil prices fell below $100 a barrel on Wednesday after President Donald Trump said the U.S. is in the "final stages" of negotiations with Iran.

By mid-afternoon, WTI futures were down close to 6%, hitting $98.05 a barrel. Brent, the international benchmark, shed a similar amount to trade at $104.92 a barrel.

Gulf Arab allies had urged Trump to stand down from renewed military strikes against Iran, and earlier this week he did so, citing the need for more time for diplomacy. He has made optimistic statements about reaching a deal on multiple occasions over the past several weeks, only for tensions between Washington and Tehran to rise again.

An Arab media report added to optimism in the market. Arab media outlet Al Hadath, as cited by Investor's Business Daily, reported that Pakistan's army chief Asim Munir has a trip to Iran planned for Thursday, where he is set to present the final draft of a proposed U.S.-Iran agreement. Pakistan has played a role in mediating between the two sides.

Iran's foreign minister said Wednesday that negotiations are continuing, according to Investor's Business Daily. For weeks, the standoff between the two countries has persisted, with Tehran keeping the Strait of Hormuz blockaded while Washington has imposed its own blockade on Iranian ports.

The price declines came despite a significant drawdown in U.S. crude stocks. According to The Wall Street Journal, EIA data showed that 7.9 million barrels were drawn from commercial crude stocks during the week ending May 15, alongside a 9.9 million barrel drawdown from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. BOK Financial's Dennis Kissler told the Journal that the drop in prices even against that bullish inventory backdrop pointed to growing conviction that some form of deal was in the works, adding that the market appeared to be pricing in an agreement.

The Strait of Hormuz remains one of the world's most critical trade routes for oil and gas. Regional mediators and U.S. officials familiar with the negotiations told The Wall Street Journal that Tehran's stance had shifted little from earlier rounds of talks, with core disputes over the strait and Iran's nuclear ambitions remaining unresolved.

Lower oil prices lifted U.S. equities. Among major indexes, the S&P 500 closed up 0.9% while the Nasdaq $NDAQ -2.14% Composite added 1.3%.