Crude oil and refined product futures prices were down sharply Monday morning following reports of talks between the U.S. and Iran about ending the continuing conflict in the Persian Gulf region.
The Nymex May West Texas Intermediate contract was down $7.46, or 7.6%, to $90.77/bbl and the June WTI contract was off $6.70 to $88.04/bbl.
European benchmark Brent crude, which has been especially sensitive to disruptions of oil supply from the Persian Gulf, was down $8.87, or more than 8%, at $103.20/bbl and June Brent was off $7.18 to $99.23/bbl.
Crude futures finished last week sharply higher after President Trump threatened to strike Iranian power plants starting Monday if the Islamic Republic failed to allow ships to transit the Strait of Hormuz. Following Trump's comments, Iran threatened to strike oil infrastructure in the region if the U.S. made good on its threat.
The morning selloff came after Trump early Monday said he would delay the attack for five days after saying the U.S. and Iran had "productive conversations." Iran, however, said no talks between the countries had occurred.
The front-month WTI contract was off about $11 from a morning high of $101.67 and Brent rose as high as $114.43/bbl before prices began to sell off.
The Nymex April ULSD contract as down 23.5cts, or about 5%, to $4.3734/gal and the May contract was 21.94cts lower at $4.0231/gal.
Gasoline future were down about 6%, with the April RBOB contract down 20.43cts to $3.0819/gal and the May RBOB contract was off 19.87cts to $3.0332/gal.
This content was created by Oil Price Information Service, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. OPIS is run independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.
Reporting by Steven Cronin, scronin@opisnet.com; Editing by Jeffrey Barber, jbarber@opisnet.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 23, 2026 10:13 ET (14:13 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2026 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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