Oil prices plunge following U.S.-Iran ceasefire

Crude https://www.axios.com/energy-climate/oil-companies" target="_blank">oil prices dropped sharply Tuesday evening, falling well under $100 per barrel after President Trump said the U.S. agreed to a two-week ceasefire with Iran that Pakistan had https://www.axios.com/2026/04/07/iran-us-ceasefire-pakistan-two-weeks" target="_self">proposed.

Why it matters: https://www.axios.com/2026/04/07/iran-2-week-ceasfire-trump-pakistan" target="_blank">The agreement is subject to Iran to allowing "complete" reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, Trump said.

• The de facto closure of the waterway — which handles about a fourth of the world's seaborne oil trade — has brought the largest disruption in oil market history.

Driving the news: The global benchmark Brent crude futures price fell roughly 16% to about $93 a barrel.

But it's still far above the roughly $73 mark right before the war began at the end of February.

• WTI, the U.S. benchmark, was down about 19% to about $92 a barrel.

What we're watching: Whether shippers have enough confidence in safe passage of the narrow waterway off Iran to resume shipments of oil, liquefied natural gas and other products.

• The physical oil market remains in turmoil after Middle East producers lowered output with export routes cut off.
• Dated Brent — the global benchmark for real-world, physical barrels of crude oil — reached its highest recorded price of $144.42, according to S&P Global Energy Platts.

  The previous record was set in 2008 at the height of the financial crisis.

• Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, UAE, Qatar, and Bahrain collectively shut-in 7.5 million barrels per day of crude production in March, with a higher figure this month, https://www.eia.gov/outlooks/steo/" target="_blank">according to Energy Department's stats arm.