Oil is currently less expensive than it was prior to the Israel-Iran conflict because of the drastic decline in price

Tuesday’s steep decline in oil prices brought them back to pre-conflict levels as investors greeted the news of a tenuous ceasefire between Iran and Israel.

Midway through Tuesday morning, West Texas Intermediate crude, the benchmark for U.S. oil, was down 4.7 percent at $65.41 per barrel, while Brent crude, the standard for the world’s oil, was down 4.4 percent at $68.24 per barrel.

These prices are almost identical to the closing prices prior to Israel’s historic June 13 strike on Iranian nuclear facilities.

That incident set off a 12-day battle that has seen direct military participation by Israel’s principal ally, the United States, as well as a volley of missiles fired by both sides against opposing territory.

On Monday, U.S. President Donald Trump declared a ceasefire; however, a few hours later, Israel accused Iran of breaking the agreement and threatened to strike Tehran again. Iran refuted the charges.

Oil prices jumped after the Israel-Iran war began and hit a five-month high last week, but they fell sharply on Monday as Iran launched limited and targeted missile strikes against American bases in Qatar.

The largest daily decline since early April and one of the worst days for US crude in the previous three years saw it plummet 7.2% to close at US$ 68.51 per barrel. The largest decline since August 2022 occurred when Brent closed at US$ 71.48 per barrel, down 7.2%.