Oil prices retreat from multi-month highs on Thursday

Oil prices retreated sharply on Thursday after touching multi-month highs, as US President Donald Trump eased market fears over potential US military action against Iran. Brent crude futures fell 3.4 per cent to $64.25 a barrel, while US Nymex crude dropped 3.4 per cent to $59.89. In the previous session, Brent climbed as high as $66.82, and Nymex reached $62.36.

The pullback followed comments from Trump late on Wednesday indicating that violence linked to Iran’s nationwide protests was subsiding and that there was no current plan for large-scale executions, helping to calm geopolitical risk premiums that had pushed prices higher.

Oil markets had rallied earlier this week on concerns that escalating tensions involving Iran could disrupt regional supply, but Thursday’s decline reflected a reassessment of those risks as immediate fears eased.

Attribution: Reuters