Oil markets posted their sharpest one-day drop in over a week Monday after the United States and Iran both stepped back from a two-week exchange of strikes around the Strait of Hormuz, a pause now being tested by drone attacks on three of Iran's neighbors within 48 hours of taking effect.
The gap between the mid-session and closing figures is not a discrepancy between outlets so much as a snapshot of a market that kept sliding through the day, as traders priced in confirmation that both Washington and Tehran intended to hold their pause rather than treat it as a brief lull between rounds of strikes.
Trump acted on that recommendation Friday, suspending the campaign in what he described Monday as an opening to see whether "something could happen" diplomatically, while warning that strikes would resume if talks failed to produce results within an unspecified window.
Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Iraq each reported drone attacks, with Saudi Arabia saying it shot down drones aimed at petroleum targets in its eastern province and in the capital, Riyadh.
The company withdrew its full-year 2026 financial guidance on April 20, citing the unpredictable swings in oil prices the Iran conflict had already caused at that point, four months before Monday's pause.
Brent crude fell nearly 9% Monday after Washington and Tehran both stepped back from two weeks of strikes near the Strait of Hormuz. The relief is already being tested by drone attacks on three of Iran's neighbors, and Seattle-area Alaska Air Group is among the airlines betting the pause holds.