Oil prices have fallen below $100 a barrel. Global stock markets are rising after US President Donald Trump said the war with Iran could end “very soon”.
After Trump’s comments that instilled optimism about an imminent end to the war, international benchmark Brent crude fell 4.7 percent to $99.05 a barrel.
Benchmark US crude fell four percent to $97.33 a barrel.
Asian stocks are up, with South Korea’s Kospi recovering losses from earlier in the week and rising 8.4 percent, while Tokyo’s Nikkei rose 5.2 percent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 2.5 percent and the Shanghai Composite Index rose 1.5 percent.
European stocks opened higher today. London’s FTSE 100 rose 1.7 percent, Germany’s DAX rose 25 percent and France’s CAC rose 2.1 percent, the BBC reported. Oil prices have been extremely volatile during the five-week US-Israeli war with Iran.
Trump last night estimated that the US would end its attack on Iran in two to three weeks and said that securing the Strait of Hormuz was not an American issue. Trump told reporters that the US would have nothing to do with what happens in the strait, and that the responsibility for maintaining this vital waterway would lie with the countries that rely on it.
