Oil prices fall and stocks rebound after Trump says Iran war could end ‘very soon’
Oil prices have tumbled from four-year highs, capping an extraordinary 24 hours in global markets and prompting global stocks to rebound after Donald Trump suggested the US-Israel war on Iran could end “very soon”.Brent crude, the international benchmark, surged as high as $119.50 a barrel on Monday as the Middle East conflict intensified fears of a deepening energy supply crisis.Trump sought to play down this remarkable increase, claiming that oil prices had risen “probably less than I thought they’d go up”, while moving swiftly to reassure investors.Brent fell to about $91.
70 a barrel after the US president described the war on Iran as “very complete, pretty much” in an interview with CBS News on Monday evening.The FTSE 100 opened higher on Tuesday, about 1.4% up in early trading, in response to the update, as traders’ concerns over the potential for a longer-term conflict in the region were eased.European markets also rose, with the Stoxx Europe 600, which tracks the biggest companies across the continent, up 1.5%.
Matt Britzman, a senior equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: “What initially looked like a one-way surge in energy costs and the inflation headaches that come with it has started to stabilise, offering some much-needed breathing room.”The rebound followed an overnight rally in Asia, which has been one of the most exposed regions to higher energy prices.Japan’s Nikkei 225 share index rose by 2.5%, while South Korea’s Kospi jumped 6%.Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index closed up by 2%.
While markets responded positively to Trump’s speech, the president also made some remarks that suggesting the conflict would continue.“We have won in many ways,” he said.“But not enough.”He wrote on social media: “If Iran does anything that stops the flow of Oil within the Strait of Hormuz, they will be hit by the United States of America TWENTY TIMES HARDER than they have been hit thus far.”About a fifth of global oil and seaborne gas tankers typically pass through the strait, which has already in effect been closed for a week, heightening concerns over energy supplies that have propelled prices higher.
Tehran declared that it would not allow “one litre of oil” to be exported from the region if US and Israeli attacks continued, Iranian state media reported on Tuesday, citing a spokesperson for the regime’s Revolutionary Guards.The French president, Emmanuel Macron, indicated on Monday that several countries could deploy ships to “escort” container ships and tankers in a bid to shore up the vital trade route once “the most intense phase of the conflict” was over.Trump also said Washington would waive some oil-related sanctions in a bid to ease shortages.While he did not mention Russia by name, the disclosure was made shortly after Trump spoke with Vladimir Putin, the country’s president.Such a move would risk complicating US efforts to punish Moscow for its war on Ukraine.
“We have sanctions on some countries,” Trump told reporters.“We’re going to take those sanctions off until the strait is up.”The Trump administration last week permitted Indian refiners to temporarily buy Russian oil for 30 days – a month after Trump claimed India had agreed to stop purchasing it, in a shift that he said would “help END THE WAR in Ukraine” by cutting off a viital source of funds for Russia.While global oil prices have dropped from Monday’s peaks, they continue to trade at about 25% higher than levels of a few weeks ago before the conflict began.Susannah Streeter, the chief investment strategist at Wealth Club, said the picture for financial markets remained unclear and that “worry is still percolating”.
“Until a longer‑term resolution is found, companies and consumers are still set to pay the price for the attack by the US and Israel on Iran.”Apprehension over elevated fuel costs, and uncertainty over supplies, prompted governments across Europe and Asia to take action.Croatia, Hungary, South Korea and Thailand have imposed price caps on fuel in recent days to mitigate the threat of shortages.The Philippines last week ordered public officials to cut back on air conditioning usage and reduce travel.Bangladesh also moved to close all universities, bringing forward the Eid al-Fitr holidays as part of emergency measures to conserve electricity and fuel.
Middle East crisis could push UK inflation back up to 3%, says OBR
UK inflation could end the year higher than previously expected at 3% because of the US-Israel war in Iran, the government’s economics watchdog has said.David Miles, a senior figure at the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), said inflation could end the year a percentage point higher than expected before the war, because of the energy price shock triggered by the crisis in the Middle East.The oil price fell on Tuesday after rising above $100 a barrel on Sunday, but it is still significantly higher than before the US and Israel began bombing Iran just under a fortnight ago. A barrel of Brent crude was trading at $85 on Tuesday evening.Miles told the Commons Treasury committee that if current energy prices were sustained, the UK would face a “material, significant” increase in inflation, delivering a noticeable and unwelcome increase in living costs for British households
Pipeline of new drugs to fight superbugs is ‘worryingly thin’, experts warn
The pipeline of new drugs to fight superbugs remains “worryingly thin” and has shrunk by 35% in the last five years, experts have said, predicting the annual number of deaths linked to drug-resistant infections globally will double to 8 million by 2050.The number of antimicrobial projects from large pharma companies has shrunk by 35% over the past five years, from 92 to 60 medicines in development, according to a report from the Access to Medicine Foundation (AMF), a Netherlands-based non-profit group, backed by the Wellcome Trust. Only five medicines are in development for children under five, who are more vulnerable to infections.“Overall, the research and development pipeline remains worryingly thin, and industry investment has lost momentum,” said Jayasree K Iyer, the foundation’s chief executive. She described drug resistance as the biggest single threat to healthcare worldwide
Datacenters are becoming a target in warfare for the first time
Hello, and welcome to TechScape. I’m your host, Blake Montgomery. If you enjoy reading this newsletter, please forward it to someone you think would as well.Iran is bombing datacenters in the Persian Gulf to blow up symbols of the Gulf states’ technological alliance with the United States. Added bonus: they will be extremely costly to rebuild, being among the most expensive buildings in history
‘I wish I could push ChatGPT off a cliff’: professors scramble to save critical thinking in an age of AI
Lea Pao, a professor of literature at Stanford University, has been experimenting with ways to get her students to learn offline. She has them memorize poems, perform at recitation events, look at art in the real world.It’s an effort to reconnect them to the bodily experience of learning, she said, and to keep them from turning to artificial intelligence to do the work for them. “There’s no AI-proof anything,” Pao said. “Rather than policing it, I hope that their overall experiences in this class will show them that there’s a way out
Cheltenham festival 2026: Lossiemouth leaves rivals in wake to win Champion Hurdle – as it happened
Here’s Greg Wood’s report on day one, thanks for following today’s action and please join us tomorrow. We go again.No sooner had Lossiemouth lifted the roof off Cheltenham with a staggeringly dominant Champion Hurdle victory than the skies around Prestbury Park also began to brighten too. The buildup to the festival had been dominated by talk of civil war, of feuding and internecine conflict. But this was a reminder of the sport’s simple pleasures
Former Super Bowl champion asked ChatGPT about injuries before girlfriend’s death, court hears
Former New York Jets linebacker Darron Lee appeared in a Tennessee courtroom on Tuesday as prosecutors outlined evidence they say ties him to the killing of his girlfriend, including messages where he asked ChatGPT questions about injuries and how to handle an unresponsive person, according to Chattanooga’s CBS affiliate WDEF.Lee, 30, is charged with first-degree murder in the death of Gabriella Perpétuo at the couple’s home in Ooltewah, about 20 miles northeast of Chattanooga. Deputies were called to the residence last month for a reported medical emergency and found Perpétuo unconscious on the living room floor. The medics were unable to save her and WTVC NewsChannel 9 reported she had suffered a suspected stab wound in addition to other injuries.During a preliminary hearing in Hamilton County court, prosecutors introduced body-camera footage from deputies who responded to the scene
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