Oil prices jumped at the start of the week after Donald Trump rejected Iran’s response to a US peace proposal and revived fears that the war could drag on.
Brent crude, the global benchmark, rose as much as 4% on Monday to $105.50 a barrel before giving up some gains and settling at $103.50, according to reports. The move followed a post on Trump’s Truth Social platform in which he called Tehran’s overture “totally unacceptable,” a blunt dismissal that pushed traders to reprice geopolitical risk almost instantly.
Key Facts
- Brent crude climbed by as much as 4% on Monday.
- The price briefly reached $105.50 a barrel before easing.
- It later settled at $103.50 a barrel.
- The jump followed Trump’s rejection of Iran’s response to a US peace plan.
The market reaction underscores how tightly oil prices track signals from Washington and Tehran when conflict threatens energy supply routes. Even without confirmed changes to production or shipping, sharp political language can shift expectations in minutes. In this case, traders appeared to read Trump’s comments as a sign that diplomacy had hit a wall, at least for now.
Trump’s rejection of Tehran’s response sent a clear message to oil markets: traders now see a harder path to de-escalation.
The broader concern reaches beyond a single day’s price spike. Higher crude prices can feed through to transport costs, consumer inflation and business expenses far from the battlefield. Reports indicate investors will now watch for any new statements from the White House, Iran or regional actors that could either calm the market or deepen worries about a prolonged confrontation.
What happens next depends on whether diplomacy revives or hardens into a longer standoff. If tensions keep rising, oil could remain volatile and put fresh pressure on governments, companies and households already watching energy costs closely. For markets, the message looks simple: political signals still move prices fast, and this story is far from over.