Oil prices slid for a second day on Sunday after the United States and Iran both refrained from launching military strikes for two consecutive nights, a pause that US ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz said was intended to “give talks some space”.
Brent crude dropped 4.9% to $92.02 a barrel in early trading, following a 3.9% fall on Friday. The retreat came after the international benchmark had briefly hit $102 last week, its highest since May, as nearly two weeks of tit‑for‑tat strikes threatened to derail a ceasefire struck in June.
“Oil prices fall after US and Iran pause strikes for two nights to allow diplomacy, Brent crude drops to $92.”
The pause in hostilities follows a period of daily US airstrikes and Iranian retaliatory attacks that killed four American soldiers and dozens of people, according to Iran’s health ministry. The fighting was triggered by Iranian attacks on tankers in the Strait of Hormuz on 13 July, which prompted Washington to resume bombing and reinstate a naval blockade on Iranian ports.
Waltz, speaking to Fox News, said President Donald Trump was “giving it a little bit of room” for diplomacy. An Iranian army spokesperson confirmed on Sunday that Tehran had halted its “retaliatory” attacks in the region. However, Waltz warned NBC that “I wouldn’t go that far at all” when asked if Trump had decided against escalation, adding that “the president is keeping all options on the table”.
Trump had not spoken publicly on the latest developments as of Sunday evening, but posted computer‑generated images on Truth Social depicting US military planes bombing Iranian ships and Kharg island.
Concern over the Strait of Hormuz has been the central driver of oil market volatility. The narrow waterway carries a fifth of the world’s oil, and the conflict has largely halted shipping traffic. Iran and Oman held technical talks on strait management in Tehran over the weekend, according to Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei.
In the UK, new Defence Secretary Wes Streeting said he would meet his US counterpart Pete Hegseth in the coming week to discuss the strait. “When it comes to securing maritime freedom and free commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, that’s where we are absolutely aligned,” Streeting told the BBC. Oil prices had surged to $100 a barrel earlier in the week as the fighting stoked fears over global energy supplies.
