The price of oil surged more than 6% on Wednesday after President Donald Trump said that the ceasefire deal with Iran was “over” after the two countries trades strikes following attacks on three oil tankers near the Strait of Hormuz.Subscribe to read this story ad-freeGet unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.“To me, I think it’s over,” Trump said on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey.“I don’t want to deal with them anymore.”“As far as I’m concerned, it’s over,” the president continued.
He said that negotiations could continue but that he considers them a “waste of time.”U.S.crude oil sharply jumped more than 6.5% to $75 per barrel, its largest one-day move up since the beginning of June.
International oil benchmark Brent rose 6.2% to almost $79 per barrel.Those big jumps came one day after jitters returned to oil markets, sending U.S.crude oil prices from about $69 to more than $72.
Follow live coverage hereThe rapid rise in oil prices also underscores how fragile falling gas prices are.Over recent weeks, falling oil prices have translated into a national average gas price that has fallen from as high as $4.56 per gallon in May to $3.79 as of Wednesday morning.
However, the drop has effectively come to a halt and the national average remained flat over the last two days, according to AAA data tracked by NBC News.Meanwhile, U.S.
stock futures sharply dropped.S&P 500 futures pointed to a drop of more than 1% at Wednesday’s opening bell, Nasdaq 100 futures dropped 1.5% and Dow Industrial Average futures slid more than 710 points.
The drop in stock futures compounded what was already a chip and tech-stock fueled sell off that started on Tuesday.Russell 2000 futures, which track small and mid-cap companies, tumbled 1.6%.
Heating oil prices, a proxy for jet fuel, climbed 2%.In turn, airline stocks were some of the hardest hit shares in pre-market trading.
Delta Airlines and Southwest Airlines...