static01.nyt.com

static01.nyt.com is blocked

This page has been blocked by an extension

  • Try disabling your extensions.

ERR_BLOCKED_BY_CLIENT

Reload

This page has been blocked by an extension

The New York Times Home Page

Advertisement

SKIP ADVERTISEMENT

Oil prices plunged to their lowest level in weeks and stocks rallied on Friday after President Trump called off plans for another day of strikes on Iran, saying that a peace deal could come as soon as this weekend.

The gains in stock markets across Europe and Asia followed a strong rally on Wall Street on Thursday, as markets were hopeful of a deal and investors awaited SpaceX’s I.P.O. The S&P 500 had dipped slightly Friday morning after Mr. Trump posted on Truth Social that Iran had leaked terms of the deal that were not accurate, calling Iranians “very dishonorable people to deal with.”

The day prior, Mr. Trump had threatened a third straight day of strikes on Iran before canceling the operation later in the day, saying that an agreement was close. Iran’s state broadcaster, quoting the spokesman for the country’s foreign ministry, said “nothing has been finalized.”

Here is the latest:

Oil prices plunge.

  • The price of Brent crude, the global benchmark for oil, dropped around 2 percent, to about $88 a barrel. Oil last traded near that level in March, shortly after the outbreak of the war.

  • West Texas Intermediate crude, the U.S. benchmark, also fell nearly 3 percent, to around $85 a barrel.

Global stocks surge, as U.S. traders await a mega I.P.O.

  • The S&P 500 wavered as markets opened in the United States on Friday. Investors are keeping their eyes on SpaceX, which will start trading Friday at an initial valuation of nearly $1.77 trillion.

  • Stocks in Asia, where countries import vast quantities of oil and gas, were higher across the board. South Korea’s benchmark KOSPI rose more than 4 percent, while stock markets in Japan rose nearly 3 percent. Shares were higher in mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

  • In Europe, stocks also jumped. The Stoxx 600, a broad index that tracks the region’s largest companies, rose nearly 2 percent. All major markets in the region posted gains.

Gasoline prices fall.

  • Gas prices dropped 2 cents on Friday, falling to a national average of $4.11 a gallon, according to the AAA motor club. Gas prices have risen nearly 40 percent since the war began.

  • Gas prices don’t move in lock step with crude, usually trailing increases or drops by a few days.

  • The average price of diesel fell to $5.26 on Friday, up 40 percent since the start of the war.

\ \ How High Are Gas Prices Where You Live? \ \ Here is a county-level look at where drivers are facing the highest costs.

What they are saying: It will be ‘months’ before oil flows return to prewar levels.

  • Despite market optimism for a deal that could reopen the Strait of Hormuz, oil prices are likely to remain high as countries replenish their stockpiles, which have been whittled down in an effort to cushion the energy shock, Goldman Sachs analysts wrote in a research note.

  • “Even if the strait were to fully reopen, it will take months for flows to return to prewar levels,” Ephraim Sutherland, a Goldman analyst, wrote in the report. U.S. economic growth will be constrained in the second half of this year as high oil prices weigh on spending, the report noted.

  • Share full article

Related Content

Advertisement

SKIP ADVERTISEMENT

Read Original at The New York Times