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Informist, Wednesday, Apr. 8, 2026

--ICE Brent June crude oil futures contract plunges 13.3% to $94.69 per barrel 

--WTI May crude oil futures contract plunges 14.9% to $96.18 per barrel 

--MCX April crude oil futures contract plunges 12% to INR 9,389 per barrel 

MUMBAI – Futures contracts of crude oil on the Multi Commodity Exchange plunged 12% Monday, tracking the sharp fall in prices of West Texas Intermediate crude oil on the New York Mercantile Exchange and Brent futures on the Intercontinental Exchange. Prices of crude oil fell sharply as the US and Iran agreed to a temporary two-week ceasefire, which included reopening the Strait of Hormuz for that period.

US President Donald Trump agreed to a temporary ceasefire with Iran, paving the way for a temporary cessation of US-Israeli strikes in exchange for the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, Al Jazeera reported. Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says Tehran has also accepted the truce, adding that safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz during the two weeks would be possible in coordination with Iranian armed forces, the report said. Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who mediated the ceasefire deal, says the agreement between Iran and the US is effective immediately. Sharif confirmed that talks between Iran and the US will begin in Pakistan's capital, Islamabad, the report said.

The agreement came hours ahead of Trump's deadline for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, at 0530 IST. In a social media post Tuesday, Trump had said, "A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again." This had sent crude oil prices surging to $113.39 per barrel on Tuesday.

The conflict in West Asia began after the US and Israel bombed Tehran and killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khameini on Feb. 28. Since then, the threat of Iranian attack has effectively shut down the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway through which around a fifth of the world's crude oil transits.

The West Asia war saw the steepest monthly oil price rise in history in March of more than 50%, Reuters reported. "There is still scope for a significant geopolitical premium being entrenched for the foreseeable future based on the details of the comprehensive agreement," the report quoted Commonwealth Bank analyst Vivek Dhar as saying in a note. "It's a good start and could pave the way to a more permanent reopening - but lots of ifs still to work out," the report quoted IG analyst Tony Sycamore as saying.

At 0936 IST, the most-traded April futures contract on the MCX was down 12% at INR 9,389 per barrel. The ICE Brent June crude oil contract was down 13.2% at $94.81 per barrel, while the WTI May crude oil contract was down 14.9% at $96.13 per barrel.  End

US$1 = INR 92.56

IST, or Indian Standard Time, is five-and-a-half hours ahead of GMT

Reported by Shreya Shetty

Edited by Akul Nishant Akhoury

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