Brent prices have returned to $80; U.S. stocks are experiencing a massive sell-off

Brent crude oil prices jumped by more than 8%—to over $80 per barrel—while the sell-off intensified on U.S. stock markets. On Wednesday, Iran and the U.S. exchanged airstrikes, after which President Donald Trump declared an end to the ceasefire with Tehran and threatened further strikes.

Amid rising oil prices and inflation concerns, the Dow Jones fell 1.33%, the Nasdaq Composite lost 0.6% (at one point, it was also down more than 1%), and the S&P 500 fell 0.68%.

Oil prices soared by more than 8%—at the time of publication, Brent prices had slowed their rise slightly—with September contracts trading at $79.46. August futures for U.S. WTI are trading above $75. Prior to this, Brent prices had last been above $80 per barrel in mid-June. Overall, according to MarketWatch, oil prices rose on Wednesday at their fastest pace in the past two months.

At the NATO summit in Turkey, the U.S. president announced that the temporary ceasefire with Iran—which had been in effect since the spring and was formalized in a June memorandum of understanding between the parties— had ended. A few hours earlier—on Tuesday night—the U.S. and Iran exchanged airstrikes on each other’s positions in the Middle East. This came after Bloomberg, Reuters, and Axios, citing sources, reported earlier in the week on attacks and damage to at least two commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz.

In response, Trump once again threatened Iran with new strikes on July 8, and also warned of a possible U.S. seizure of Khark Island (which is home to Iran’s largest oil terminal, through which the vast majority of its crude exports pass) and the resumption of a naval blockade of Iran.

This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor