Oil prices continued to slide in Tuesday’s Asian trading after Iranian state media announced a ceasefire deal with Israel, easing market fears over potential supply disruptions.
US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell by 2% to $67.13 per barrel, reaching its lowest level in nearly two weeks. Brent crude, the international benchmark, dropped 1.8% to $67.17 per barrel.
The market reaction followed US President Donald Trump’s announcement late Monday of what he described as “a complete and total” ceasefire between Israel and Iran. Trump expressed hope that the agreement would become permanent. Iranian state media later declared that a ceasefire had been “imposed on the enemy.”
Oil prices had already plummeted on Monday, with WTI crude falling 7.2% to settle at $68.51 a barrel—the steepest one-day drop since early April. Brent crude closed at $71.48 per barrel, also down 7.2%, marking the biggest daily loss since August 2022.
The sharp declines came after Iran launched a limited missile strike on US bases in Qatar. Just days earlier, oil prices had spiked over 10% amid concerns that the escalating conflict could severely disrupt global oil supplies. On Sunday evening, crude prices surged as high as $78.50 per barrel, their highest level in five months.
Before this latest downturn, the last time US crude traded below $70 per barrel was on June 12, shortly before Israel began its strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities.
The ceasefire news now signals a potential easing of geopolitical tensions, providing temporary relief to energy markets that had been rattled by fears of wider regional instability.
