More Stories

Informist, Monday, Mar. 23, 2026

 

--Brent May crude oil futures down 10% at $101.24/bbl; hits low of $96/bbl 

--WTI May crude oil futures down 9% at $89.38/bbl; hits low of $84.37/bbl 

--Crude oil futures plunge after Trump says no strikes on Iran for 5 days

 

MUMBAI – Benchmark crude oil futures plunged over 10% Monday, before recouping some of the losses, after US President Donald Trump said the US and Iran had "very good and productive" conversations over the last two days, and that the US has postponed any military strikes against Iran for five days. The May futures of Brent crude oil on the Intercontinental Exchange fell to a low of $96 per barrel and the West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures on NYMEX fell to $84.37 per barrel.

 

At 1711 IST, Brent crude oil futures was 7.8% lower at $103.50 per barrel and WTI crude oil futures was 8% lower at $90.29 per barrel. "Based on the tenor and tone of these in depth, detailed, and constructive conversations, witch (sic) will continue throughout the week, I have instructed the Department of War to postpone any and all military strikes against Iranian power plants and energy infrastructure for a five day period, subject to the success of the ongoing meetings and discussions," Trump said on Truth Social, a social media platform owned by Trump Media & Technology Group.

 

Crude oil prices had soared well above $100 per barrel since the military conflict in West Asia began, with Brent trading around $114 per barrel earlier in the day. The surge in prices was mainly due to a loss of supply from the Strait of Hormuz, a critical chokepoint which transits roughly 20% of the global oil supply. 

 

Trump had issued a 48-hour ultimatum to Iran over the weekend to open the strait. He had threatened to attack Iran's power plants if Tehran refused to comply. Faced with severe military losses, Iran has made transiting through this chokepoint rather difficult for commercial ships, reportedly firing at some ships in its bid to build leverage in this military conflict.  End

 

US$1 = INR 93.97

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

 

Reported by Ashutosh Pati

Edited by Saji George Titus

 

For users of real-time market data terminals, Informist news is available exclusively on the NSE Cogencis WorkStation.

 

Cogencis news is now Informist news. This follows the acquisition of Cogencis Information Services Ltd. by NSE Data & Analytics Ltd., a 100% subsidiary of the National Stock Exchange of India Ltd. As a part of the transaction, the news department of Cogencis has been sold to Informist Media Pvt. Ltd.

 

Informist Media Tel +91 (22) 6985-4000 

Send comments to feedback@informistmedia.com

 

© Informist Media Pvt. Ltd. 2026. All rights reserved.