U.S./Israeli-Iran war: Oil price crashes on Trump’s ceasefire offer
Oil prices fell sharply yesterday afternoon, moments after the United States President Donald Trump said military strikes on Iran’s energy infrastructure had been postponed following talks with Tehran. Brent, the
- Trump in ‘productive’ talks with Iran, puts on hold Strait of Hormuz opening ultimatum
- Pope Leo seeks ban of aerial military strikes
Oil prices fell sharply yesterday afternoon, moments after the United States President Donald Trump said military strikes on Iran’s energy infrastructure had been postponed following talks with Tehran.
Brent, the benchmark for two-thirds of the world’s oil, dropped 11.72 per cent to $99.04 a barrel. West Texas Intermediate (WTI), the gauge that tracks United States (US) crude, was down 10.92 per cent to $87.50 per barrel.
The drop came after weeks of soaring oil prices. A barrel was close to $120 earlier this month as a result of major disruptions to global energy supplies.
In Nigeria, the ripple effect of the rising crude oil price has continued to reverberate through the economy. Since the commencement of the face-off, premium motor spirit (PMS) or petrol has been on a steady rise across the country. Yesterday, the commodity sold for N1, 320 per litre and N1, 330 per litre in Lagos, exceeding N1, 400 per litre in some places.
A cursory look at the price increase of petrol across the country indicated that Nigeria’s largest refiner, Dangote Refinery raised its ex-depot price from N774 to N874 per litre on March 2, 2026 following the global rise of crude oil price to above $80 per barrel.
Still, between March 7 and 9, the refinery price of the commodity rose to N995 per litre and N1,175 per litre. On March 20, the refinery increased the price to N1, 245 per litre, and further increased it to N1,275 per litre within 24 hours.
This presupposes that within one month of the Iran, US and Israel face-off, Dangote Refinery ex depot price of petrol at Dangote Refinery has increased five times from N774 to N1,275, representing an approximately 64.7 per cent increase in the period.
Analysts had warned that the destruction of energy supply and infrastructure could keep oil prices elevated.
Trump said he held “very good and productive conversations” with Iranian authorities and will order the U.S. military to postpone strikes against Iran’s power plants and energy infrastructure for five days.
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“Based on the tenor and tone of these in-depth, detailed, and constructive conversations, which will continue throughout the week. I have instructed the Department of War to postpone any military strikes against Iranian power plants and energy infrastructure for five days, subject to the success of the ongoing meetings and discussions,” he wrote on Truth Social.
Iranian sources deny contact with Trump, aides
However, Iran’s Parliament’s Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, suggested to be the leader representing Iran in contacts with the U.S., posted on social media that no talks had been held with the U.S.
“No negotiations have been held with the US, and fake news is used to manipulate the financial and oil markets and escape the quagmire in which the U.S. and Israel are trapped,” Qalibaf wrote on X.
In reports by state media, unnamed Iranian sources also denied that Iranian authorities had any direct or indirect contact with the US President.
The sources insisted that there have been no negotiations with Washington, clouding the prospects of a solution.
“There are no talks between Tehran and Washington,” the Mehr news agency reported, citing Iran’s foreign ministry. It added that Trump’s statements were part of a push “to reduce energy prices.”
Iran has effectively closed the key Strait of Hormuz, through which about a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas flows.
Trump wrote early morning yesterday on Truth Social that the U.S. and Iran had had “very good and productive” conversations over the past two days about a “complete and total resolution of hostilities in the Middle East”.
He later told reporters that his special envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner, who had been negotiating with Iran before the war, had had discussions with a top Iranian official into the evening on Sunday, and would continue yesterday.
“We have had very, very strong talks. We’ll see where they lead. We have major points of agreement, I would say, almost all points of agreement.
“All I’m saying is, we are in the throes of a real possibility of making a deal,” Trump told reporters before departing Florida for Memphis.
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He declined to say who the U.S. was speaking to in Iran but said it was not Mojtaba Khamenei, who was wounded in the Israeli attack at the start of the war that killed his father and predecessor, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
“We’re dealing with the man who I believe is the most respected and the leader,” Trump said.
An unnamed Israeli official and a source familiar with the matter told Reuters that Qalibaf, increasingly influential, was representing Iran and that talks on ending the war could be held in Islamabad, Pakistan, this week.
Trump’s declaration sends stocks, cryptocurrency soaring
Trump’s announcement also sent stocks soaring, but the gains were quickly trimmed after Iran’s media denied the talks.
S&P 500 futures were up 1.6 per cent. Treasuries swung between gains and losses, with the two-year yield at 3.9 per cent. And gold prices dropped 1.9 per cent and the dollar edged lower, according to a Bloomberg report.
According to the shipping analytics firm, Kpler, Gulf producers have lost $15.1 billion in energy revenue since the war began, with at least $10.7 billion in cargoes sitting loaded inside the Strait of Hormuz.
Kpler estimates Hormuz carries $1.2 billion worth of oil, gas and refined products on a normal day.
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Pope Leo: aerial military strikes should be banned
Catholic Pontiff Pope Leo has criticised aerial bombardments yesterday, saying they are indiscriminate and should be banned.
Leo, the first U.S. pope, did not specifically mention the expanding conflict in a meeting with executives and staff members from Italy’s ITA Airways, but he strongly decried the use of airpower in warfare.
“No one should have to fear that threats of death and destruction might come from the sky,” said the Pope.
“After the tragic experiences of the 20th Century, aerial bombings should have been banned forever,” he said. “Yet they still exist … this is not progress; it is regression!”
The pope has called repeatedly for a ceasefire in the war. On Sunday, he called the conflict a “scandal to the whole human family.”
Tehran attacks targets in Israel, U.S. bases
Iranian media reported that Tehran attacked targets in Israel and U.S. bases in the region.
More than 2,000 people have been killed in the war that the U.S. and Israel launched on February 28.
