Oil jumps after Trump's Iran ceasefire comments
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Oil markets are taking President Trump's claim that the Iran ceasefire is "over" seriously, but not literally.
Why it matters: The price jump is big, but even now, there are signs that the markets aren't expecting a complete return to war.
The latest: Prices climbed Wednesday morning after Trump said that while negotiations can continue, they are a "waste of time."
- His comments followed the U.S. conducting a new round of strikes on Iran, retaliation for renewed Iranian attacks on commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz.
- The global benchmark Brent crude was $77.53 per barrel Wednesday morning, about $5 above where it began the week following increases Tuesday and Wednesday.
My thought bubble: Today's rise is sharp, but there have been larger spikes during the conflict, and prices are nowhere near levels in the spring, when Brent briefly touched $126 in April.
- That suggests the market hive-mind isn't pricing in a full re-escalation of the war that brings another prolonged closure of the strait or forces regional producers to again cut output from wells.
- Plus, substantial volumes of oil have flowed on tankers out of the region in recent weeks, improving the market's balances somewhat.
Yes, but: "Even if no sustained physical disruption materializes, uncertainty around vessel safety, insurance costs, potential delays, and the risk of further retaliation is likely to keep volatility elevated in the near term," the research and consulting firm Rystad Energy said in a note Wednesday.
- "Traffic through the strait will almost certainly remain reduced until the security situation becomes clearer and market participants gain more visibility on whether a diplomatic off-ramp remains available," it adds.
Driving the news: On Tuesday, the U.S. revoked the temporary waivers it issued as part of the memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Iran that had allowed Tehran to sell oil, the Treasury Department announced.
- But as Bloomberg's Javier Blas points out, that still enables significant Iranian sales.
- "While the revocation doesn't fundamentally change oil market dynamics, it's important from a sentiment perspective" by showing risks that the U.S.-Iran agreement breaks down, ING analysts said in a note.
What we're watching: A sustained oil price rise could cause U.S. gasoline prices, which have been falling for weeks, to start rising anew.
