Oil 📍

NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. stock market is holding near its records Thursday as oil prices keep dropping on hopes that a deal may be nearing to allow tankers to carry crude once again from the Persian Gulf to customers.

The price for a barrel of Brent crude oil, the international standard, fell another 4.5% to $96.70, down from more than $115 early this week. It and gasoline are still much more expensive than they were before the war with Iran began, but hope is rising in financial markets as Iran said it was reviewing the latest U.S. proposals on ending their war.

On Wall Street, the S&P 500 added 0.1% to its all-time high set the day before after a spokesperson for Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry said, “We expect an agreement sooner rather than later.” Pakistan has been acting as a mediator between the United States and Iran. The hope is that an end to the war will reopen the Strait of Hormuz, whose closure has kept oil tankers pent up in the Persian Gulf and sent prices higher for crude and all kinds of products worldwide.

Oil prices hit a fresh wartime high on Thursday, surging above $120 a barrel before pulling back in volatile trading on concerns that the war in Iran could escalate, leading to a longer disruption of fuel supplies from the Middle East.

President Trump maintained his stance that the naval blockade of Iran’s ports would persist until Tehran gives up its nuclear program. His remarks to Axios on Wednesday suggested that the standoff over the Strait of Hormuz, the vital trading route for oil and natural gas supplies, was not nearing a resolution.

The average price of regular gasoline in the United States has followed oil higher, hitting $4.30 a gallon on Thursday, up 27 cents in a week, according to data from the AAA motor club.