Oil prices rallied to a drop on Thursday following an earlier decline in oil futures on Wednesday. Industry experts noted that the retreat of prices came following signals from both Washington and Tehran to back out of a potential all-out military war.
West Texas Intermediate prices stood at $62.07 per barrel while Brent crude traded at $67.80 early Thursday, Oil Prices reported. The retreat came after days of skyrocketing oil prices as investors expressed fears of a potential all-out war between the U.S. and Iran.
Thursday was much calmer for investors as U.S. President Donald Trump said during his Wednesday nation address that new sanctions would be imposed on Iran if the nation continues to strike bases where American troops are deployed.
Oil futures also saw a slight recovery on Thursday following a sharp decline on Wednesday. Global oil benchmark Brent crude edged up 0.8 percent, while American crude futures also added 0.8 percent.
According to CNN, Asian markets also showed more optimism on Thursday despite losses the previous day. China's Shanghai Composite advanced 0.9 percent and the Hong Kong Hang Seng index added 1.2 percent.
In South Korea, things were calmer, with the Kospi index adding 1.2 percent, and over in Japan, the Nikkei 225 recovered by a notable 1.9 percent.
Market analysts are expecting the same reaction from investors in the coming days, given that both the U.S. and Iranian governments decide to wind down military action on each other's bases or cultural sites.
Meanwhile, some political and economic experts are still worried that the conflict is far from over, despite the U.S. and Iran signaling a stand-down in keeping a full-blown war from happening anytime soon.
Aside from a potential House vote on Thursday to constrain U.S. President Donald Trump from using his military power against Tehran, there were previous comments from some of Trump's allies regarding the alleged questionable details of the report on why Iranian bases were attacked last week.
Republican Senators Rand Paul and Mike Lee agreed that there were issues with the briefing submitted to Senate regarding the strike. Furthermore, Senate Democrats said administration officials did not provide adequate evidence defending the military action taken against Iran at that time.
Trump ordered an air strike last week that resulted in the passing of Iranian top General Qasem Soleimani. The military leader was laid to rest on Sunday as mourners called on more action to avenge Soleimani's death.
Iran retaliated earlier this week, launching missiles on two Iraqi bases where American troops were deployed. No casualties were confirmed as a result of the strikes.
