Energy & Resources
WTI Oil Falls Below $80 on Trump Middle East Deal Hopes
West Texas Intermediate, the main US oil contract, fell back below $80 a barrel on Tuesday after US President Donald Trump signalled optimism over a deal to end Middle East hostilities.
WTI dropped 3.2 percent to $79.98 a barrel. Brent North Sea crude, the main international benchmark, fell 3.7 percent to $85.10 a barrel.
The move extended a slide in crude prices after a pause in US-Iran strikes eased concern about Gulf shipping, inflation and possible further interest-rate increases. On Monday, Brent had fallen 8.7 percent to $88.36 a barrel and WTI had dropped 7.5 percent to $82.61.
Middle East tensions have repeatedly moved oil markets, after renewed US-Iran hostilities earlier in July had pushed Brent back above $100 a barrel last week.
Update
West Texas Intermediate fell 3.2 percent to $79.98 a barrel on Tuesday.
Brent North Sea crude fell 3.7 percent to $85.10 a barrel.
The fall followed Trump signalling optimism over a deal to end Middle East hostilities.
Source note: AFP news report published on 28 July 2026 at 09:08:04 UTC.
Update
West Texas Intermediate fell back below $80.
The move was linked to hopes over the Middle East.
Source note: AFP news report published on 28 July 2026 at 08:52:42 UTC.
Update
Brent North Sea crude was down 8.7 percent at $88.36 per barrel around 2010 GMT.
West Texas Intermediate was down 7.5 percent at $82.61 per barrel.
The Dow closed up 0.5 percent, the S&P 500 was flat and the Nasdaq Composite closed down 0.2 percent.
US chip stocks were dented by a report of a technological breakthrough by Shanghai Yuliangsheng.
CXMT ended its Shanghai debut up 465 percent after earlier rising more than 500 percent.
Source note: AFP news report published on 27 July 2026 at 20:18:40 UTC.
Update
Brent was down 6.0 percent at $86.22 a barrel around 1530 GMT.
West Texas Intermediate was down 6.8 percent at $83.22 a barrel.
Early Wall Street gains faded, leaving only the Dow in positive territory in late morning trading.
Nvidia fell more than five percent as technology stocks continued to weigh on the Nasdaq.
Frankfurt closed up 1.0 percent, while London and Paris also closed higher.
Source note: AFP news report published on 27 July 2026 at 15:49:18 UTC.
Update
At around 1330 GMT, Brent North Sea crude was down 4.7 percent at $87.33 a barrel.
West Texas Intermediate was down 5.5 percent at $84.42 a barrel around 1330 GMT.
Wall Street opened higher, with the Nasdaq rising as major technology stocks gained.
Frankfurt was up 1.6 percent in afternoon trading, while London and Paris also rose.
Source note: AFP news report published on 27 July 2026 at 13:47:24 UTC.
Update
Brent North Sea crude was down 8.1 percent at $88.98 a barrel around 1100 GMT.
West Texas Intermediate was down 7.0 percent at $83.08 a barrel around 1100 GMT.
European and Asian stock markets rose as the calmer US-Iran situation eased inflation concerns.
The US Federal Reserve was expected to keep interest rates unchanged on Wednesday, with the Bank of England expected to do the same on Thursday.
China's CXMT closed up 465 percent on its Shanghai market debut after Bloomberg News reported it raised $9.8 billion in an initial public offering.
Source note: AFP news report published on 27 July 2026 at 11:19:00 UTC.
Update
Around 0810 GMT, West Texas Intermediate was down 5.7 percent at $84.20 a barrel.
Around 0810 GMT, Brent North Sea crude was down 6.1 percent at $90.89 a barrel.
Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said talks with Oman focused on principles and mechanisms for safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz while respecting sovereign rights.
AFP reported that Pakistan was looking at resuming US-Iran peace talks after a push initiated by China.
Major European and Asian equity markets mostly rose, while Taipei, Bangkok and Jakarta fell.
China's CXMT jumped sharply on its Shanghai market debut after a reported $9.8 billion IPO.
Source note: AFP news report published on 27 July 2026 at 08:34:30 UTC.
Update
Brent briefly fell back below $90 after shedding more than seven percent at one point.
Around 0715 GMT, Brent was down 6.4 percent at $90.56 and West Texas Intermediate was down 6.5 percent at $83.54.
The United States held fire over the weekend, and Donald Trump's UN envoy said the president was giving talks some space.
Tehran said it would stop retaliatory attacks on regional neighbours.
Iran said talks with Oman on managing safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz had made progress.
Equity markets mostly rose as the oil pullback eased some inflation and interest-rate concerns.
Source note: AFP news report published on 27 July 2026 at 07:46:49 UTC.
Update
Brent North Sea crude fell 5.58% to $91.38 a barrel at Monday's opening of Asian markets.
West Texas Intermediate fell to $84.43, though the supplied text gave the size of its move ambiguously as '$5.46 percent'.
AFP linked the market move to cautious relief after two consecutive nights without US strikes on Iran and renewed room for talks.
Source note: AFP news report published on 26 July 2026 at 22:27:04 UTC.
Uncertainty notes
The source does not say whether any deal to end Middle East hostilities has been reached.
The oil price levels are market figures from the supplied report and may change during trading.
Source
AFP news report published on .