Oil Tumbles 8 Percent on Iran Peace-Talk Hopes as Trump Says a Deal 'Could Happen' on Election Eve
Brent posted its biggest one-day fall since April and WTI its biggest since July, Reuters reported Monday, as hopes of US-Iran negotiations pushed bond yields lower worldwide — even as a shaky AI trade kept US stocks mixed.
Crude oil prices had their biggest one-day fall in months on Monday, tumbling 8 percent on hopes that Iran may be more open to negotiations with the United States to end the war, Reuters reported in its Trading Day file on Monday. Brent's fall was its biggest since April and WTI's its biggest since July; the drop pushed bond yields lower around the world, while gold rose 2 percent and stayed below $4,000.
The move came on the eve of Tuesday's midterm elections, in which, Reuters noted, President Donald Trump's Republican Party is expected to fare badly in large part because of the unpopularity of the war and the high energy prices it has caused. Trump has previously signaled that new attacks on Iran could follow the midterms, but on Monday he appeared to soften his stance and said a deal "could happen" — with things possibly becoming clearer after Tuesday's elections.
Stock markets in Asia and Europe mostly benefited from the oil slump — South Korea rose 2 percent, Japan slipped 0.3 percent and Europe gained 0.4 percent — but the momentum evaporated in US hours as investors turned to Tuesday's vote and a still-shaky AI trade: the Nasdaq fell 1 percent and the S&P 500 fell 0.5 percent, while the Dow added 0.4 percent. Seven S&P 500 sectors rose and four fell, with consumer cyclicals up 2 percent, technology down 2.7 percent and energy down 4 percent.
For Newark drivers and households, one day's plunge does not reset Tuesday's pump or heating prices — but it underlines how directly the war, and Tuesday's verdict on it, now runs through the energy bills Essex County families pay.
