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Oil prices have tumbled back from the four-year highs they hit, after Donald Trump suggested the US-Israel war on Iran could end “very soon”.
It has been an extraordinary 24 hours in global markets due to fluctuating oil prices, The Guardian reported.
On Monday, March 9, Brent crude, the international benchmark, surged beyond $100 per barrel for the first time since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, triggering stark sell-offs across leading Asian and European stock indices. Wall Street also started the day under pressure in New York.
Then Trump, who pays close attention to market movements, started talking. The war on Iran as “very complete, pretty much”, the US president claimed in an interview with CBS News.
Brent crude, which climbed as high as $119.50 per barrel on Monday, fell back sharply to settle at $98.96.
On Wall Street, the S&P 500 clawed out of the red to finish the day higher.
How worried are Americans about oil prices?
Trump has promised that higher prices are temporary, and that by the time Americans head to the polls in November they will be more positive about the cost of living, reported BBC.
In northern Georgia, however, voters are casting ballots in a special congressional election on Tuesday March 10, are worried about the war and oil prices.
Bob Stinnett, an independent voter, said he worried that the spike in energy prices could cause a recession.
He told BBC, "I have supported Trump, but not for this.”
Angie, who recently retired after a long career as a nurse, said she was worried rising gas prices could eat into her budget at a precarious time in her finances.
When asked how she felt about the Iran war, and the impact it would have on her gas prices, she said she cares more about the people of Iran. But, she said, the US should not have gotten involved.
She said, "I honestly don't like it at all. I understand they needed help, but couldn't we have found another way to do this?"
