HONG KONG: Oil prices tumbled again on Thursday after US President Donald Trump and his Iranian counterpart signed off on a deal to end their war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz. The news boosted optimism for a lasting peace between the two nations after more than three months of war that has rattled energy markets and fuelled a fresh spike in inflation. However, the upbeat mood on trading floors was tempered by expectations that the Federal Reserve will hike interest rates before the year&#39;s end, after its new boss held his first policy meeting and acknowledged &quot;persistently high prices are a burden for the American people&quot;. Trump put his signature to the memorandum of understanding in Versailles after the G7 summit, telling reporters: &quot;Just signed it.&quot; Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei, quoted by the state news agency IRNA, said the document &quot;was finalised with the signatures of the presidents.&quot; All eyes are now on the strait, through which a fifth of the world&#39;s oil normally passes and which Tehran effectively closed after the US and Israel launched their war on Iran on Feb. 28. &quot;As a first step, Islamic Republic of Iran will instantly reopen the Strait of Hormuz and the United States of America will immediately lift the naval blockade,&quot; Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, whose officials mediated the agreement, said on X. The deal will see Washington commit to immediately waive oil sanctions and facilitate the release of a $300 billion reconstruction fund, while Tehran agrees to dilute its enriched uranium as talks on a longer-term agreement are held. Crude fell more than 1% Thursday, extending the losses sustained since news broke over the weekend. Both main contracts have plummeted by more than 15% since last week, when talk of an agreement began to swirl. &quot;A signed MOU and a faster path toward reopening the Strait of Hormuz should pull some of the panic premium out of crude,&quot; wrote Stephen Innes at SPI Asset Management. &quot;That matters because oil was not just trading war risk. It was trading the possibility that reserve drawdowns and blocked Gulf flows would create an energy cliff.&quot; However, equities were mixed as they struggled to maintain the positive momentum seen this week, following the Fed&#39;s latest policy meeting, which saw it hold rates as expected but signal it could hike in the next six months. Tokyo, Seoul, Singapore, Taipei and Manila all rose, but Hong Kong, Shanghai, Sydney, Wellington and Jakarta fell. The gathering was the first for new boss Kevin Warsh, who noted that inflation has been well above the bank&#39;s 2% target for years but vowed to &quot;deliver price stability&quot;. &quot;Persistently high prices are a burden for the American people, but the recent past need not be prologue,&quot; he said after the meeting at which he also wanted wide-ranging reforms at the bank. Warsh was appointed by Trump, who has launched an unprecedented assault on the Fed&#39;s independence and called previous boss Jerome Powell incompetent for not cutting rates enough. Analysts pointed out that the Fed&#39;s post-meeting statement did not mention an easing bias, as it had done previously. The greater emphasis on prices than on jobs was also noted. Data this month has shown inflation at a three-year high, while the labor market remains healthy. &quot;While there is no suggestion the Fed&#39;s dual mandate has shifted away from unemployment as well as price stability, markets have been left with a view (that) the emphasis appears to have shifted to the latter for now,&quot; wrote National Australia Bank&#39;s Gavin Friend. Key figures around 0245 GMT&nbsp;West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 1.7 percent at $75.47 a barrel Brent North Sea Crude: DOWN 1.4 percent at $78.42 a barrel Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 1.7% at 71,052.30 (break) Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 1.7% at 23,891.32 Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.1% at 4,103.29 Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1520 from $1.1494 on Wednesday Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3315 from $1.3282 Dollar/yen: DOWN at 160.58 yen from 160.71 yen Euro/pound: DOWN at 86.50 pence from 86.53 pence New York - Dow: DOWN 1.0%at 51,492.55 (close) London - FTSE 100: UP 0.1% at 10,508.61 (close)

A man walks next to an electronic quotation board displaying the Nikkei 225 stock prices on the Tokyo Stock Exchange in Tokyo on June 18, 2026. (Photo by Kazuhiro NOGI / AFP)

Business

Oil prices extend their decline as the US-Iran peace deal and the planned reopening of the Strait of Hormuz ease energy supply fears, though markets remain cautious amid expectations of further Federal Reserve interest rate hikes.

Oil prices sink further as Trump signs deal to reopen Hormuz

Web Desk

Middle East

Says making a 'final determination' on a potential agreement with Iran, outlining conditions he says must be met before a deal can move forward; earlier, Trump said Iran must agree that they will never have a nuclear weapon or bomb and that the Strait of Hormuz must be reopened immediately for unrestricted shipping traffic without tolls

Middle East roundup, May 29: Trump to make ‘final determination’ on Iran peace deal

Web Desk/AFP

Americas

Iranian state TV reports explosions on the Strait of Hormuz island during ‘exchange of fire’; Oil prices tumble five percent after US President Donald Trump says once again that an agreement could be near following positive talks, and Iran says it would pass on its latest position to the mediator, Pakistan.

Day 69: All you need to know about US-Israel war on Iran

ISLAMABAD: BP (British Petroleum) has reported one of its strongest profit performances in recent years, even as the global oil market faces severe disruption from the Strait of Hormuz crisis and the ongoing war in Iran. The British energy giant posted first-quarter underlying replacement cost profits of $3.2 billion, more than doubling from a year earlier and exceeding analyst expectations by about 20%, Reuters reported.&nbsp; Sky News highlighted that these were BP&rsquo;s first results since the war in Iran began, with profits rising sharply as the conflict drove up global oil prices.&nbsp; The report noted that benchmark prices surged after attacks effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, through which around one-fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas normally flows.&nbsp; Despite oil averaging only about $81 per barrel during the quarter, BP&rsquo;s profits more than doubled, reflecting what the company itself described as &ldquo;exceptional oil trading,&rdquo; according to Sky News.&nbsp; This highlights a key dynamic in the current crisis: While many oil companies have faced losses from disrupted supply chains, stranded shipments and higher insurance costs, firms with large trading operations have been able to capitalize on price volatility.&nbsp; <div><div style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px; line-height: 2;"><iframe scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-1&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=2049013102960591000&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Farticles%2F&sessionId=119ed3eb553d52f70f38ab3053361340efbc9998&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 641px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;" spellcheck="false"></iframe></div></div>Reuters reported that BP&rsquo;s trading division was a major driver of earnings, benefiting from supply disruptions and sharp market swings triggered by the conflict. The broader oil market, however, remains under strain. The closure of Hormuz has disrupted shipments, cut output and created legal and logistical challenges for producers and traders, even as prices surged.&nbsp; These disruptions have forced companies to reroute cargoes, absorb higher costs and deal with delayed deliveries. BP itself was not immune to these pressures. Reuters reported that the company relied on increased production in the United States to offset disruptions to Gulf flows, while its net debt rose to $25.3 billion due to working-capital impacts linked to the crisis.&nbsp; The profit surge has raised concerns about rising energy costs for consumers, as higher oil prices linked to the war continue to feed into fuel and household energy bills, Sky News said. The results underscore a widening divide in the oil industry.&nbsp; While the market faces instability and supply risks, companies like BP with strong trading arms are turning volatility into record earnings, even as the broader energy system remains under stress.

British Petroleum (BP) posted $3.2 billion in quarterly profit as oil volatility from the Iran war and Hormuz crisis boosted trading earnings, despite disrupted shipments, rising debt and consumer cost concerns.

Articles tagged with "Strait of Hormuz Crisis"

Oil prices sink further as Trump signs deal to reopen Hormuz

Middle East roundup, May 29: Trump to make ‘final determination’ on Iran peace deal

Day 69: All you need to know about US-Israel war on Iran

Crisis pays: BP posts first quarter $3.2B profit

Oil prices sink further as Trump signs deal to reopen Hormuz