Market News

WTI crude oil futures were trading below $61 per barrel on Wednesday, as easing fears of an imminent US military strike on Iran triggered a swift reversal in prices.

Oil prices briefly slid as much as 3% in post-settlement trading, wiping out gains from earlier in the session.

The decline followed comments from President Donald Trump indicating he had been assured that executions of protesters in Iran had stopped, reducing expectations of near-term US intervention.

Oil had rallied for five straight sessions amid concerns that unrest in Iran — OPEC’s fourth-largest producer, pumping roughly 3.3 million barrels per day — could disrupt supply or key shipping routes.

Trump’s remarks eased those fears, prompting traders to unwind some of the geopolitical risk premium that had pushed prices to their highest levels since October.

Meanwhile, EIA data showed US crude stocks and gasoline inventories rose while distillate stockpiles fell last week.