Brent crude slumped below $90 a barrel for the first time since August, deepening a selloff as traders boosted bets on a resolution to the Middle East war.
The global benchmark sank as much as 3.1% on Tuesday after sliding almost 6% the day before. US President Donald Trump, facing pressure to end the conflict following Republicans’ defeat in US midterm elections, said further strikes on Iran wouldn’t be necessary.
The oil market has seen a dramatic turnaround this month, with prices tumbling from the six-month high reached at the end of October. US gasoline also slid below $4 a gallon for the first time since July, easing some of the pressure on central bankers grappling with elevated inflation even as costs remain high.
“The market is betting Trump won’t resume strikes after the midterm blue wave,” said Arne Lohmann Rasmussen, chief analyst at A/S Global Risk Management. “Crude could fall further, but I think the biggest move is behind us.”
Congressional Democrats are now weighing whether to use a Dec. 11 government shutdown deadline to pressure Trump into ending the conflict, now in its ninth month, as pressure builds on the administration to find an off-ramp.