June WTI crude oil (CLM26) on Tuesday closed down -4.15 (-3.90%), and June RBOB gasoline (RBM26) closed down -0.1176 (-3.15%). Crude oil and gasoline prices settled sharply lower on Tuesday as the ceasefire in the Middle East appears to be holding, easing geopolitical risks.
Crude prices retreated as relative calm returned to the Persian Gulf on Tuesday after US and Iranian forces exchanged fire on Monday in the Strait of Hormuz. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Tuesday said that talks with the US are "making progress" and that events in Hormuz make clear "there's no military solution to a potential crisis." Mr. Araghchi is traveling to China on Tuesday for talks on regional and international developments. The US is pressuring China to help convince Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, as China buys almost all of Iran's oil exports.
