Oil prices sink on signs of U.S.-Iran deal

(Ben German – Axios) Crude oil prices dropped about $5 per barrel Sunday evening in the first major trading since the emergence of rough and tentative outlines of a deal to end the U.S.-Iran conflict. The throttling of the Strait of Hormuz is raising energy costs and weighing down economies worldwide — including the U.S., where average pump prices are about $1.50-per-gallon above pre-war levels. And the crisis is poised to worsen as global crude oil inventories are depleting at a record pace. Futures prices from the global benchmark Brent crude are back under $100 per barrel, trading around $98.76 Sunday evening, a 4.62% drop from Friday’s close. Even if an agreement that opens the Strait is reached — a process that could take days, per Axios’ Barak Ravid — energy markets will remain disrupted for months. – Oil prices fall after Trump indicates US-Iran deal possible