WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Crude oil has plummeted on Wednesday after U.S. President Donald Trump stated that the U.S. forces will leave Iran in two to three weeks even in the case of not reaching a mutually agreeable deal.
WTI Crude Oil for May delivery was last seen trading down by $1.68 (or 1.66%) at $99.70 per barrel.
While speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, Trump stated that U.S. forces could leave Iran in about two to three weeks.
Trump stressed that this would happen even if no deal were reached between the U.S. and Iran but only when the U.S. is convinced that the new regime cannot build any nuclear weapon in future. Trump hinted that oil prices would tumble once it happens.
Trump also observed that the U.S. has already met its goal in Iran by pushing the country to the stone age with 'no navy, air force, or military' to speak of.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump announced that Iran's ruling regime asked for a ceasefire and stated that the U.S. will consider the request once the Strait of Hormuz is 'open, free, and clear.'
Previously, Trump had warned Iran to accept a ceasefire framework and open up the Strait of Hormuz failing which the U.S. forces will obliterate all power and energy facilities in Iran. The threat increased concerns that the war could go on for months and consequently, oil prices moved up-north.
Today's message from Trump assuaged those concerns and oil prices pulled back.
Meanwhile for the fifth week, fighting between the U.S.-Israeli forces and Iran continued in the Middle East without a let-off by either side.
Iranian drones struck fuel tanks at Kuwait's international airport. Bahrain reported fire at an undisclosed facility. Saudi Arabia reported destroying several drones launched by Iran.
On the inventory front, data from the American Petroleum Institute revealed that the crude oil inventories rose by 10.263 million barrels for the week ending March 27, the most in many weeks, versus expectations of a 1.300 million-barrel decline.
According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, crude oil inventories in the U.S. increased by 5.450 million barrels for the week ending March 27.
For the same period, gasoline inventories dropped by 585,000 barrels, distillate inventories decreased by 2.111 million barrels and heating oil inventories slipped by 809,000 barrels.
Head of the International Energy Agency Fatih Birol warned that oil supply disruptions would rise in April and affect Europe's economy if the Strait of Hormuz continues to remain closed.
Fatih pointed out that that since the start of the gulf war, more than 12 million barrels of oil have been lost and about 40 key energy assets in the Middle East have been damaged. Fatih estimates that the losses in April could be twice the loss in March.
Scarcity in jet fuel and diesel supply has affected air traffic in Asian countries. Fatih cautioned that the crisis could seep in into Europe soon.
Speaking about the diplomatic measures Iran was willing to take, in an interview with Al-Jazeera, Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi acknowledged 'exchange of messages' happening through Iran's 'friendly nations' but no formal talks.
According to a Reuters survey report, crude oil production by member-nations of OPEC dropped by 7.2 million barrels daily in the previous month.
Iraq slashed from 4.15 million barrels per day to 1.4 million barrels, Kuwait 0.5 million bpd from nearly 3 million bpd, the U.A.E. from 3.56 million bpd to nearly 2 million bpd, and Saudi Arabia by about 2 million bpd.
Copyright(c) 2026 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX
© 2026 AFX News
