Oil Prices Drop, Stocks Climb In Response to Trump's remarks in CBS Interview
Brent crude futures dropped from nearly $120 per barrel in the morning to below $90 in the afternoon. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell around 900 points early but closed up 261 points.
WASHINGTON – Oil prices fell and stock markets rose Monday after President Trump, in a CBS telephone interview, described the military action against Iran as "very complete, pretty much" and said it could end soon, easing fears of prolonged supply disruptions.
Trump told CBS: "They have no navy, no communications, they’ve got no air force. Their missiles are down to a scatter. Their drones are being blown up all over the place, including their manufacturing of drones. If you look, they have nothing left. There’s nothing left in a military sense. If they do anything bad, that would be the end of Iran, and you’d never hear the name again." The comments followed weeks of volatility from Iranian attacks on Gulf tankers and refineries.
Brent crude futures dropped from nearly $120 per barrel in the morning to below $90 in the afternoon. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell around 900 points early but closed up 261 points. The S&P 500 turned a 1.5% morning loss into a nearly 1% gain. U.S. gas prices rose to a national average of $3.47 per gallon.
Analysts linked the reaction to Trump's confidence in a swift resolution and potential reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.
To date, the military action—entering its tenth day—has involved over 2,000 strikes achieving air superiority, degrading nuclear and missile sites, sinking an Iranian warship, and eliminating key regime leaders, prompting Iranian retaliations including tanker attacks, drone strikes on the U.S. Embassy in Riyadh, and missile barrages on Gulf allies, with seven American service members killed. Reinforcements continue, with Trump projecting four to five weeks of targeted operations to secure U.S. and allied interests.