Oil price today: Rates slide 3% after Trump’s Iran remarks; here’s how much Brent and West Texas Intermediate crude cost

Global oil prices fell sharply on Thursday after comments from US President Donald Trump eased worries about unrest in Iran and possible disruptions to crude supplies.West Texas Intermediate crude fell 3.0% to $60.16 a barrel, while Brent slipped 2.93% to $64.57. The decline came after Trump said he had been informed that the killing of protesters in Iran had been halted.In an unexpected statement from the White House, the US president said he would “watch it and see” when asked about the possibility of military action.“They’ve said the killing has stopped and the executions won’t take place — there were supposed to be a lot of executions today and that the executions won’t take place — and we’re going to find out,” Trump said.In recent days, Trump has repeatedly spoken about stepping in to support the Iranian people amid a crackdown on protests, which rights groups claim has resulted in at least 3,428 deaths.Earlier, fears that the unrest could affect crude supplies had driven oil prices higher, with benchmarks rising about 1.5% on Wednesday.“Oil prices dropped… on comments from US President Donald Trump that Iran would refrain from any further killing of protesters, watering down fears of a looming supply shock in energy markets,” said Kyle Rodda of Capital.com.Iran contributes around 3% of global oil output, according to Michael Wan, an analyst at financial group MUFG, who highlighted the figure earlier this week.Wan added on Thursday that Trump’s comments came “even as the United States has redeployed some personnel in Qatar and other American bases from ongoing geopolitical tensions and possible Iranian threats to target those locations”.