Crude oil futures traded lower on Tuesday morning after US President Donald Trump said that he called off a proposed military strike on Iran following requests from his allies in West Asia.

At 9.06 am on Tuesday, July Brent oil futures were at $109.80, down by 2.05 per cent, and July crude oil futures on WTI (West Texas Intermediate) were at $102.70, down by 1.61 per cent. June crude oil futures were trading at ₹9922 on Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) during the initial hour of trading on Tuesday against the previous close of ₹9924, down by 0.02 per cent, and July futures were trading at ₹9481 against the previous close of ₹9505, down by 0.25 per cent.

In a post on the social media platform Truth Social, Trump said: “I have been asked by the Emir of Qatar, Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud, and the President of the United Arab Emirates, Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, to hold off on our planned Military attack of the Islamic Republic of Iran, which was scheduled for tomorrow, in that serious negotiations are now taking place, and that, in their opinion, as Great Leaders and Allies, a Deal will be made, which will be very acceptable to the United States of America, as well as all Countries in the Middle East, and beyond.”

Trump said this deal will include ‘no nuclear weapons for Iran’. “Based on my respect for the above mentioned Leaders, I have instructed Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, The Chairman of The Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Daniel Caine, and The United States Military, that we will NOT be doing the scheduled attack of Iran tomorrow, but have further instructed them to be prepared to go forward with a full, large scale assault of Iran, on a moment’s notice, in the event that an acceptable Deal is not reached,” he said.

In their Commodities Feed for Tuesday, Warren Patterson, Head of Commodities Strategy of ING Think, and Ewa Manthey, Commodities Strategist, said the oil market continues to trade in wide ranges, and it remains extremely sensitive to Iran-related headlines amid current supply disruptions. Prices whipsawed after more aggressive rhetoric from Trump coming into this week, followed by reports that the US offered a temporary sanction waiver on Iranian oil until an agreement between the US and Iran is reached. The US has not confirmed these reports. Meanwhile, Trump said he held off on strikes on Iran, scheduled for today, after pressure from a number of Gulf countries, with ‘serious negotiations’ now taking place.

“One might think the oil market would become increasingly numb to these headlines. However, the scale of supply disruptions is significant and growing more concerning each day that oil flows remain halted,” they said.

The US extended a waiver that expired over the weekend, allowing the sale of Russian oil floating at sea for another 30 days. It allows sales until June 17, with the aim of stabilising oil markets amid significant losses in the Persian Gulf. The extension will be welcomed by Asian buyers, who are most exposed to the ongoing disruptions in West Asia, they said.

The latest data from China show the impact of the ongoing supply disruptions on the domestic oil sector. Refineries in April processed 13.35 million barrels a day of crude oil, down 5.8 per cent year-on-year and the lowest level since August 2024. Apparent oil demand also came under pressure, falling 5.8 per cent year-on-year to 13.03 million barrels a day, they said.

Published on May 19, 2026