The decline in oil prices accelerated on Thursday at the end of Asian trading, falling more than 3%, amid market relief following US-Iran deal that reopened the Strait of Hormuz.
The price of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil fell by 3.40% to $74.18 per barrel at approximately 6:25 GMT, while Brent crude, the global benchmark, dropped by 3.02% to $77.15 per barrel.
United States President Donald Trump and Iran’s president signed a deal on Wednesday meant to end the Middle East war, with Tehran agreeing to dilute its enriched uranium in return for large-scale economic relief.
Trump put his signature to the memorandum of understanding during dinner with French President Emmanuel Macron at the Palace of Versailles following a G7 summit, a US official said. “Just signed it,” Trump told reporters as he emerged from the palace.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said the document “was finalized with the signatures of the presidents”.
The deal aims to draw a line under the war launched on Feb 28 by the US and Israel, prompting Iran to counterattack with missile and drone salvos across the region – and effectively shutting down the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial waterway for the world economy.
The signing of the US-Iran memorandum of understanding means Tehran will reopen the Strait of Hormuz “instantly” and the American blockade of Iranian ports will end “immediately”, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Thursday.
He also confirmed that Pakistan, with Qatari support, would host a ceremony in Switzerland on Friday to “commemorate this landmark event and commence with the technical level talks”.
The agreement had earlier been slated for signatures by Iran’s chief negotiator and parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, and US Vice President JD Vance. Iran said an in-person ceremony was no longer needed. Iran insisted the deal represented a US “failure”.
“The agreement is a record of US failure. People will see it and judge,” Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said on state TV late Wednesday after the text was released by both sides.
The head of the pro-Tehran Lebanese Shiite movement Hezbollah, Naim Qassem, described the deal as a “great victory” for Iran. He thanked Tehran for insisting that the truce cover Lebanon, which was drawn into the conflict when Hezbollah fired rockets at Israel on Mar 2 in support of Iran. (AFP)
