Oil Prices Drop 6% as Trump Confirms Iran Talks Set for Monday

TLDR

• Oil prices fell more than 6%, dropping below $80 a barrel on hopes of a US-Iran peace deal.
• President Trump confirmed talks with Iran will start Monday afternoon.
• Trump canceled a planned military strike after requests from Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar.
• Bitcoin fell below $63,000 even as oil prices, the US dollar, and bond yields all dropped.
• US stock futures rose, with S&P 500 futures up more than half a percent.

Oil prices dropped sharply on Monday, falling more than 6% to trade near $79 a barrel. The move came after President Donald Trump confirmed that talks between the United States and Iran will begin later that day.

The drop followed a steep climb last month, when oil prices had jumped more than 20%. Traders had been bracing for wider conflict in the Middle East.

Trump said he called off a planned military operation against Iran. He made the decision after Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar asked him to hold back.

Talks Set to Cover Strait of Hormuz and Nuclear Program

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said talks between Iran and Oman over control of the Strait of Hormuz are in their final stages. The strait is a key route for global oil shipments.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said the goal is to find a shared way to manage the strait. Both sides appear close to an agreement on that point.

Trump linked the Hormuz talks to a bigger goal. “There’s a deal on Hormuz and then there will be a deal on the denuclearization of Iran,” he said.

He confirmed that US-Iran negotiations will start Monday afternoon. He said the outcome will shape further discussion on opening the strait and limiting Iran’s nuclear program.

When asked about a deadline for the talks, Trump did not set a firm date. “We’ll just see how it is. We’re ready to go any time we want,” he said. “I’m not looking to kill people. We don’t want that.”

Stock Futures Rise as Bitcoin Keeps Falling

US stock futures moved higher on the news. S&P 500 futures rose more than half a percent as investors welcomed the chance of lower tension in the Middle East.

Bitcoin did not follow the same path. The token fell more than 1% even as oil prices, the US dollar, and bond yields all dropped.

Last week, reports that the US and Israel were considering a land blockade on Iran had already pushed Bitcoin below $64,000.

The US dollar index fell to 99.50 on Monday. That drop came as the US and Japan stepped in together to buy the yen, which had slid to a 40 year low.

The 10 year Treasury yield also slipped, falling under 4.7% after touching an 18 month high. Lower yields and a weaker dollar often support Bitcoin, but that was not the case Monday.

Bitcoin traded at $62,760 at the time of writing. Its 24 hour range ran between $62,717 and $63,714.

Trading volume for Bitcoin rose 7% over the past day. That points to active trading even as the price stayed under pressure.

For now, oil markets and stock futures are pricing in hope for peace talks. Bitcoin traders appear to be watching from the sidelines, waiting for more clarity before the token finds its next direction.

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