Oil prices plunge as US and Iran pause strikes over Strait of Hormuz, Brent falls 4.66% to 92.27 dollars
Oil prices plunged today as the US and Iran paused strikes tied to the Strait of Hormuz standoff. Brent crude fell 4.66% to $92.27 a barrel, WTI dropped 5.02% to $84.83, per Euronews. Brent had briefly hit $102 last week. The pause pulls today's risk premium out of the price.
Oil prices dropped sharply today after the United States and Iran paused strikes connected to the standoff over the Strait of Hormuz, according to Euronews. Brent crude, the international benchmark, fell 4.66% to $92.27 a barrel, while US crude (WTI) dropped 5.02% to $84.83. The decline reverses part of last week's spike, when Brent briefly traded above $102 a barrel as fighting in the region intensified and traders priced in the risk of disruption to Gulf shipping routes. With strikes paused and talks reportedly underway, that risk premium is coming out of the price rather than any change in actual oil supply. The scale of today's single-session move, both benchmarks down more than 4%, shows how much of the recent price spike was tied to fear of escalation rather than a physical shortfall. That gap between fear-driven pricing and real supply is why headlines about talks or strikes can move oil prices as much as tanker traffic does.