Oil prices tumble below $80 per barrel for first time since March

Oil prices tumble below $80 per barrel for first time since March Jake Conley · Breaking Business News Reporter Updated Tue, June 16, 2026 at 3:37 PM GMT+2 1 min read BZ=F CL=F Futures on Brent crude oil ( BZ=F ), the international benchmark, briefly dipped below $80 per barrel on Tuesday — as low as $79. 96 — for the first time since March 3, which was only days after the start of the Iran war. In the wake of US and Israeli strikes on Iran beginning Feb.

28, crude oil prices skyrocketed on both Brent and the US benchmark, WTI crude ( CL=F ), climbing up to nearly $120 per barrel. US WTI crude crossed and held below $78 per barrel on Tuesday. Prices have fallen precipitously since the opening of futures trading for the week on Sunday evening after President Trump announced Washington and Tehran had agreed to the terms of a memorandum of understanding to end the war that has roiled the global energy market.

Trump and the Iranian parliamentary speaker are reported to have signed the deal electronically on Monday, with a formal signing ceremony scheduled for Friday in Switzerland. While terms have not been made public, the deal is understood to require the full reopening of the Strait of Hormuz by both sides of the conflict, with a 60-day negotiation period to follow on issues such as Iran's nuclear program and longer-term control of the strait. Stocks, meanwhile, traded mostly flat after Monday's rally .

Vessels at the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman, on June 16, 2026. (Reuters/Stringer/File Photo) · REUTERS / REUTERS Jake Conley is a breaking news reporter covering US equities for Yahoo Finance. Follow him on X at @byjakeconley or email him at jake.

conley@yahooinc. com .