Oil Rises as De-Escalation Hopes Fade; Trump Says Iran Let 10 Ships Through Hormuz
Oil prices jumped on Thursday after U.S. President Donald Trump said he was unsure whether he was still willing to strike a peace deal with Iran. He also claimed Iran had allowed 10 oil tankers to pass through the Strait of Hormuz as a “gift” to show it was negotiating in good faith.
Oil has traded in a seesaw pattern against equities this week—falling one day and rising the next—often pressuring stocks when crude moves higher. The moves highlight how headline-driven markets remain as investors react to shifting signals on the Iran conflict and the security of key shipping routes.
At 15:23 ET (19:23 GMT), Brent futures for May delivery rose 5.5% to $107.86 a barrel, while WTI crude futures climbed 4.5% to $94.37 per barrel. Prices have been highly volatile in recent weeks after the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz disrupted energy flows. Brent surged to nearly $120 earlier this month on fears of supply outages.
Crude had slid on Wednesday after the U.S. sent Iran a 15-point peace plan aimed at halting hostilities. But Iran pushed back strongly against the ceasefire proposal. Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency reported Tehran had formally delivered its response and was awaiting Washington’s reply.
Earlier Thursday, Trump posted on social media that Iranian negotiators were “begging” the U.S. to make a deal to end the nearly month-old conflict. He repeated the message later during a Cabinet meeting, adding that he didn’t know if a deal was still possible—or if the U.S. was willing to pursue one. “They should’ve done that four weeks ago,” Trump said.
José Torres, senior economist at Interactive Brokers, said Trump’s messaging has helped reduce Wall Street volatility by limiting damage to stocks, rates, and energy. However, he warned investors will need to see tangible progress soon, or market performance could deteriorate further. Torres added that equities and Treasuries could face much deeper losses if a prolonged war pushes WTI back above $100 for several weeks.
Against that backdrop, Torres said recession risk is rising, as is typical during an oil-price shock—when spending and investment capacity is squeezed as more dollars are diverted toward higher fuel and power costs.
Source : Newsmaker.id
