Oil prices surges 6% to $78, gas holds at $3.80 as Trump ends Iran ceasefire

Oil prices surged more than 5% and global stock markets tumbled on Wednesday, July 8, after U.S. President Donald Trump asserted that the interim ceasefire with Iran is “over.”

The statement comes after the Trump administration launched a series of strikes on Iran and revoked a waiver that had permitted Tehran to sell oil abroad.

Brent crude has jumped to 6% to above $78 a barrel reaching its highest level in more than two weeks, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude surged more than $74 a barrel. The stock markets have reacted strongly to the new bout of uncertainty. The future contract of S&P 500 lost 0.7% of its value while that of the Dow Jones Industrial Average decreased by 1%. Nasdaq futures were down 1.1%. In Asia, South Korean Kospi futures declined by 5.4%, while Japanese Nikkei 225 was down 2.1%.

Energy stocks also rose in premarket trading, with Exxon Mobil and Chevron gaining nearly 2%. The U.S. national average cost of gasoline was $3.80 a gallon on Wednesday, up more than 27% from the level seen before the outbreak of the war in late February, AAA reported.

Market experts expressed concerns that another round of escalation may hurt stock market valuations. The tech sector was also dragged down by the fact that Apple's attempt to challenge the European Union's decision to classify it as a gatekeeper under the new Digital Markets Act failed. The stocks of Google parent Alphabet, Meta Platforms, Microsoft, and Amazon shed over 1%.

The developments mark a dramatic setback for weekes of relative calm in the region, during which crude prices had declined from spiles well above $100 a barrel.