Oil extended its slide on Monday, November 9, as traders bet on a diplomatic end to the Iran war. Brent crude, the global benchmark, fell 4.96% to $93.44 a barrel by 14:05 GMT, down from $98.32 at the previous close, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) dropped 4.6% to $86.65 from $90.83.

Source: JournalArta Markets (Yahoo Finance, Twelve Data)

The fall deepened through the day: Dow Jones market reporting put front-month Brent down about 4.8% near $93.62 a barrel, and a Reuters market file put Brent down about 5% at $93.38 with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 540 points at the New York open, as investors bought the prospect of cheaper energy and lower inflation pressure.

Source: Dow Jones Newswires via Morningstar

Why oil is falling

Crude came under pressure after President Donald Trump told CNN it was 'highly unlikely' the United States would need to resume strikes on Iran if negotiations progress, and as Qatar's prime minister and foreign minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani — a key mediator who visited Tehran last week — met Trump and Vice President JD Vance at the White House on Monday. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has cautioned that the talks are not close to a breakthrough, and Iran's foreign ministry has defended Tehran's proposal as the most reasonable offer on the table.

The backdrop is the war the United States and Israel launched against Iran on February 28, which has disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz — the narrow waterway carrying a large share of the world's traded oil — and kept a war premium in crude prices for months. Attacks on tankers and Gulf energy sites this month have kept supply risks in view even as prices fall, and market reporting notes the Iran war has drained global oil stockpiles to their lowest levels in years.

Monday began with oil already sliding at the open, when Brent changed hands near $97.67 a barrel on the same Iran-talks hopes. Read how Monday's oil slide began

Gold, the dollar and shares move the other way

A softer dollar and lower energy prices lifted metals and shares. Spot gold rose 1.4% to $4,122.97 an ounce, silver gained 1.75% to $52.85, and copper rose 1.48%. The dollar index slipped 0.49% to 101.795, the US 10-year yield eased to about 4.84%, and European shares gained — the Euro STOXX 50 rose 1.63% — while Tokyo's Nikkei 225 closed 2.33% higher at 58,775.5.

Source: Kitco News AM Report

For big oil-importing economies such as India, cheaper crude eases the import bill and fuel-price pressure — a direct knock-on for transport costs, including the trucking and delivery work many Punjabi families in Canada and the Gulf depend on. Traders caution, however, that one fresh incident in the Strait of Hormuz could put the supply risk — and the price — straight back up.

What happens next

The first test is any statement out of the White House meeting with Qatar's prime minister and signs of movement in the Iran talks. Investors also face US October inflation data on Tuesday, which will shape expectations for the Federal Reserve's December meeting. Until a deal is actually signed, oil traders say the market will keep swinging between diplomacy hopes and Hormuz risk.