Oil Falls Below $87 on Hormuz Hopes as Copper Hits Record High
Oil prices fell for a third consecutive session on Wednesday as hopes increased that progress could be made towards reopening the Strait of Hormuz.
Brent crude dropped 1.9% to below $87 a barrel after Iran said it had restarted talks with Oman over management of the key shipping route, which normally carries around a fifth of global oil and gas exports.
Tehran remains under heavy economic pressure from the Trump administration, which has threatened action against countries continuing to trade with Iran.
Elsewhere in commodities, copper climbed 0.6% to around $6.75 per pound, reaching a record high, as falling inventories and production disruption sustained concerns over global supply. The move could provide support for London-listed miners including Antofagasta, Anglo American, Glencore and Rio Tinto.
Gold eased 0.4% to around $4,640 an ounce, but remained close to a three-month high. Bullion has gained almost 14% during August and remains on course for its strongest monthly advance since 1999.
Bitcoin slipped 2.1% to around $79,000, while investors turned their attention towards Nvidia’s quarterly results due after the Wall Street close, seen as the next major test of enthusiasm surrounding the artificial intelligence trade.
Asian equities were broadly higher. Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained 0.6%, South Korea’s Kospi rose 1.1%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 0.7% and the Shanghai Composite advanced 0.6%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 slipped 0.3%.
Wall Street also finished Tuesday higher, with the Nasdaq 100 up 0.4% and both the S&P 500 and Dow Jones adding around 0.2%.
In Canada, the dollar remained under pressure after the government announced 50% retaliatory tariffs on the US, although Toronto’s S&P/TSX Composite still closed nearly 0.7% higher at a fresh record.
