
WTI crude dives as US and Iran agree 60-day ceasefire, reopening Strait of Hormuz. Brent breaks $83. Natural gas rises on weather. Friday signing in focus.
WTI crude opened sharply lower Monday after the U.S. and Iran agreed to a 60-day interim ceasefire. The deal reopens the Strait of Hormuz and lifts the naval blockade of Iranian ports. President Trump said the strait would be fully open by Friday, with passage toll-free – a reversal of Iran's earlier attempt to charge ships moving through the waterway.
Vice President JD Vance is expected to sign the memorandum of understanding in Switzerland on Friday. The full text will be released sometime after that date. Trump has not confirmed whether he will attend.
Israel's operation against Hezbollah in Lebanon remains active. The interim deal does not address Iran's nuclear program, which was the original justification for the military campaign against the country. Markets are ignoring those risks for now, Vladimir Zernov, an independent trader with 18 years of experience, noted in a forecast. Traders are pricing immediate supply relief.
Crude: The Hormuz Premium Unwinds
WTI is trying to break below the $81.00–$81.50 support zone. If the break holds, the next floor sits at $76.50–$77.00. RSI is in moderate territory despite the heavy sell-off, meaning momentum could accelerate if the deal holds through Friday's signing, Zernov said. A failure to break $81.00 would suggest the market has already priced the Hormuz reopening and is waiting for the next catalyst.
Brent crude already cleared the $86.00–$86.50 support that held for weeks. It is now testing $83.00. If that gives way, the $81.00–$81.50 range becomes the next target, followed by $77.00–$77.50. The speed of the move matters: a slow bleed into $81.00 would signal position-squaring. A fast break would indicate fresh shorts piling in.
Natural Gas: Weather Bets Lift Prices
Natural gas rose separately as traders bet on a rebound from current levels, supported by favorable changes in weather forecasts. The resistance zone at $3.20–$3.25 is the key level. A successful test opens the way to $3.40 and then $3.60, Zernov said. On the downside, a move below $3.00–$3.05 support targets $2.75–$2.80. RSI is in moderate territory, leaving room for a sustained move in either direction.
Broader Market Effects
The oil sell-off rippled through other assets. The U.S. dollar moved lower as traders focused on the Iran deal. Gold rallied as geopolitical risks declined. The S&P 500 extended its rally, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average hitting a record high on an improved Fed outlook.
The mechanism: lower oil prices reduce inflation expectations. That strengthens the case for the Federal Reserve to cut rates sooner. Equities benefit from lower inflation and a weaker dollar. Gold benefits from the dollar decline and lower real yields.
The Nuclear Question Remains
The interim deal removes the immediate supply disruption from the Strait of Hormuz, which had been the primary risk premium in crude. The nuclear program remains unresolved. Israel's Lebanon operation is a live escalation risk. The market is treating the deal as a binary event: Hormuz open = oil lower. The next leg depends on whether the 60-day window leads to a comprehensive agreement or collapses back into confrontation.
Friday's signing in Switzerland is the next scheduled catalyst. Until then, the move is driven by position adjustment, not fresh fundamentals. WTI at $81 and Brent at $83 are the levels where buyers may step in. If they don't, the $76–$77 range is the next value zone.
Prepared with AlphaScala research tooling and grounded in primary market data: live prices, fundamentals, SEC filings, hedge-fund holdings, and insider activity. Each story is checked against AlphaScala publishing rules before release. Educational coverage, not personalized advice.