June WTI crude oil (CLM26) on Monday closed up +3.24 (+3.07%), and June RBOB gasoline (RBM26) closed up +0.0588 (+1.59%). Crude oil and gasoline prices rallied sharply on Monday, with crude posting a 3-week high and gasoline posting a nearly 4-year nearest-futures high. Crude prices soared on Monday amid doubts about the progress of peace negotiations to end the US-Iran war that is keeping the Strait of Hormuz closed and tightening global oil supplies. However, crude prices dropped more than -$2 a barrel in post-market trading Monday afternoon when President Trump said he canceled a scheduled attack on Iran on Tuesday after Qatar asked him to hold off.
Harsh rhetoric from President Trump boosted crude oil prices when he said the "clock is ticking" on Iran, and it "better get moving FAST on a peace deal, or there won't be anything left of them." Also, crude prices rose after Iran said that, despite draft changes, US demands for ending the war were "excessive and unrealistic."
