Oil prices fall as Donald Trump agrees two-week pause on Iran strikes linked to Strait of Hormuz talks

Benchmark oil futures plummeted, and Wall Street equity futures surged on Wednesday morning, after US President Donald Trump said he agreed to suspend bombing on Iran for a period of two weeks, subject to Iran agreeing to open the Strait of Hormuz. The S&P/ASX 200 Index jumped 2.6 per cent to 9955 points in morning trade, led higher by big gains in banking, tech, and mining stocks. The only sector lower was energy with a 7.5 per cent fall. “We received a 10-point proposal from Iran, and believe it is a workable basis on which to negotiate,” Mr Trump posted to his Truth Social channel. “Almost all of the various points of past contention have been agreed to between the United States and Iran, but a two week period will allow the Agreement to be finalized and consummated.” News reports suggested Iran agreed to a conditional reopening of the Strait of Hormuz for two weeks. Brent crude oil futures tumbled 6 per cent on the news to $US102.61, with US WTI oil sinking 16 per cent to $US94.80. Gold also jumped 2.3 per cent to $US4814 an ounce. Risk bellwether Bitcoin jumped 4.5 per cent to $US71,972. Futures in the tech-heavy Nasdaq Index in the US jumped 660 points or 2.7 per cent. The Australian dollar rose 1.6 per cent to buy $US70.2 cents. Government bond yields also fell as traders priced in a potential deal that could ease worries that soaring energy prices will lift inflation. President Trump signalled that the deal with Iran had been negotiated by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Field Marshal Asim Munir of Pakistan.