Oil falls more than 7%, then the US strikes Iranian targets near Hormuz
WTI settled at $96.46 and Brent at $104.77 on Monday on hopes of a deal with Iran. After the close, a US official told AP of defensive strikes in the Strait of Hormuz.
Source published · In the Daily Brief of 3 November 2026
Brent lost $8.66, or 7.63%, and WTI $7.66, or 7.36%, Reuters reported, after President Masoud Pezeshkian said Tehran would try to resolve the problem through dialogue. Qatari mediators travelled to Tehran on Monday evening. Raymond James analyst Pavel Molchanov urged scepticism after what he called many false dawns.
The Associated Press later carried a US official’s statement that defensive strikes had been conducted on some Iranian targets in the strait. Vice President JD Vance had said hours earlier that he and President Donald Trump felt good about the prospects for a settlement. AP reported that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is pressing for new strikes after Tuesday’s US midterm elections.