Oil falls after Trump says US will end Iran war 'very quickly'

Donald Trump asserted on Wednesday that the war with Iran will end "very quickly".

Oil prices eased after Trump's assertion. Brent crude oil futures fell 88 cents, or 0.8%, to $110.40 a barrel by 0410 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures were down 67 cents, or 0.6%, to $103.48. Both benchmarks fell nearly $1 on Tuesday after U.S. Vice President JD Vance said the U.S. and Iran had made progress in talks, with neither side wanting to see a resumption of military action. Toshitaka Tazawa, an analyst at Fujitomi Securities, said investors are keen to gauge whether Washington and Tehran can actually find common ground and reach a peace agreement, with the U.S. stance shifting daily. Despite Trump's assertion to U.S. lawmakers late on Tuesday about a quick end to the conflict, he earlier said the United States may need to strike Iran again and he had been an hour away from ordering an attack before postponing it. He said his comments on the need to strike again came a day after he said he had paused a planned resumption of hostilities following a new proposal by Tehran to end the U.S.-Israeli war.

Citi said on Tuesday it expects Brent crude to rise to $120 a barrel in the near term, stating that oil markets are under-pricing the risk of a prolonged supply disruption and broader tail risks. Some tankers have recently managed to cross through the Strait of Hormuz though the number of shipments remain well below the 130 or so ships that typically transited before the war. Two Chinese supertankers carrying 4 million barrels of Middle East crude oil exited the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, after waiting in