Oil Plunges 6% as US Halt to Iran Strikes Fuels Hopes for Easing Tensions

International oil prices tumbled after the US halted airstrikes on Iran, easing concerns over supply disruptions in the Middle East.

Bloomberg reported on July 26 that Brent crude fell about 6% to around $91 a barrel. West Texas Intermediate traded below $84 a barrel, while European natural gas prices dropped as much as 7.8% during the session.

The pullback came as traders bet military tensions in the Middle East may ease after the US stopped its 13-day air campaign against Iran after the night of July 24. Iran's military also said it had suspended retaliatory attacks following the US halt.

Tensions in the region have not fully subsided. Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels claimed on July 25 that they attacked Saudi Aramco-linked facilities in Jizan and Yanbu on Saudi Arabia's Red Sea coast. Saudi authorities and Aramco did not immediately confirm the claim.

Yanbu is the western terminus of Saudi Arabia's East-West pipeline and has become a key crude export hub after oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz were effectively blocked. Jizan also hosts Aramco refining facilities and an export terminal.

Global oil prices have risen about 30% this month as the conflict between the US and Iran spread beyond the Strait of Hormuz to the Red Sea. Brent briefly climbed above $100 a barrel last week.

With the US pausing its strikes for now, markets are focused on President Donald Trump's next move and whether supply disruptions emerge in the Red Sea.