(Bloomberg) — Oil’s wild ride continued late Monday as futures moved lower in post-settlement trading that took prices toward $80 a barrel after US President Donald Trump’s latest remarks on Iran sent volatility surging.
The move lower came after Trump signaled the US war on Iran could be ending soon, saying the operation was ahead of schedule as he faced mounting pressures amid surging energy prices. “I think the war is very complete, pretty much,” Trump told CBS News Monday in a phone interview.
The crude market was rocked by intense prices swings on Monday as traders parsed through all the moves in Iran and the impacts on global supplies.
During regular trading, West Texas Intermediate swung in a roughly $28 range — the widest range since prices briefly turned negative during the depths of the pandemic. Brent settled below $99, down from an intraday high of $119.50, marking the largest-ever drop from an intraday high to a closing price on record.
WTI futures surged as much as 31% during a frenzied Asian trading session. The rally was driven by concerns that a standstill of tanker traffic through the vital Strait of Hormuz will choke off supplies to the rest of the world.
But by the end of the trading session, futures gave up most of the gains as the world’s largest economies consider a co-ordinated release of emergency oil stockpiles. WTI settled up about 4%.
Then suddenly, oil ripped lower in after-hours trading on Trump’s latest remarks.
WTI lost more than 10% to trade as low as $81.19.
Trump is set to hold a press conference Monday evening from Florida before returning to Washington.
Still, the Strait of Hormuz remained all but closed, with no finalized plans on how nations will safeguard ships passing through the key waterway.
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–With assistance from Nathan Risser and Charles Gorrivan.
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