FX.co ★ Oil Prices Reverse Gains After Trump's Comment

WTI crude oil futures experienced a decline, trading below $61 per barrel on Wednesday, as concerns over a potential U.S. military strike on Iran subsided. This descent followed post-settlement trading, where prices fell by as much as 3%, erasing earlier session gains. The market's reaction came after President Donald Trump announced assurances that the executions of protesters in Iran had ceased, thus lowering expectations for immediate U.S. intervention. Oil prices had previously seen an upward trend for five consecutive sessions due to worries that instability in Iran—OPEC's fourth-largest oil producer, delivering approximately 3.3 million barrels daily—could potentially disrupt supply lines or pivotal shipping routes. However, President Trump's statements alleviated these concerns, causing traders to retract some of the geopolitical risk premium that had elevated prices to their highest point since October. Additionally, data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) indicated that U.S. crude and gasoline inventories rose, while distillate stockpiles decreased last week.