Markets stage violent reversal after Trump signals de-escalation in Iran conflict
Oil prices are tumbling and currency markets are snapping back toward pre-war levels after President Donald Trump said that Washington and Tehran had held “very good and productive conversations” over the preceding two days, and that he had ordered the Pentagon to postpone planned strikes on Iranian power plants and energy infrastructure for five days. The announcement, which came just hours before his own 48-hour ultimatum to Iran was set to expire, has led to a circa-15-percent drop in the global Brent crude benchmark, with similar moves playing out in West Texas Intermediate, along with European gas futures. Since US...