Oil prices slide as U.S. and Iran pause strikes to give ‘space’ for diplomacy - NBC News

What the report says

NBC News reported that oil prices fell sharply Monday after the United States and Iran stopped their recent exchanges of fire over the weekend, a pause U.S. officials described as intended to leave room for diplomacy. Brent crude ended down 8.7% at $88.36 a barrel, while U.S. crude dropped 7.5% to $82.61, reversing part of last week’s surge, when Brent briefly reached $102.

President Donald Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One that Washington was speaking with Iran and said he was not under pressure to reach an immediate agreement. U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz told NBC’s “Meet the Press” that talks were continuing and that the halt in strikes was meant to give negotiations space. Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei, however, said Tehran was not currently negotiating directly with the United States and would keep defending its interests.

The market reaction comes after 13 straight nights of attacks and growing concern over shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea, both vital corridors for global trade and energy supplies. NBC cited a U.S. official saying Iran had launched drones at ships in the Strait of Hormuz in recent days, with the U.S. military shooting them down and no vessels hit. NBC’s analysis of MarineTraffic data found 29 verified Hormuz transits from Friday through Sunday, while Bab el Mandeb traffic remained higher.

The developments matter because roughly one-fifth of global oil had moved through Hormuz before the war, making disruptions there a major risk for energy prices and wider markets. NBC also reported that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu traveled to Washington for talks with Trump expected to include Iran.