Oil prices fall to levels not seen since start of US-Israel war on Iran¶

Al Jazeera | July 2, 2026

Summary¶

Brent crude fell more than 1% to below $71 a barrel — returning the international benchmark to levels not seen since February 27, the day before the US-Israel war on Iran began. Prices are down more than 38% from their post-war peak of $126+ on April 30.

Key Points¶

• Brent August futures: $70.82/barrel as of 04:30 GMT — lowest since February 27
• More than 38% below Brent's post-war peak of $126+ on April 30
• Qatar reported "positive progress" in indirect US-Iran talks on the MoU
• Trump: "denuclearisation of Iran is moving along well"

Expert Quotes¶

• Vandana Hari (Vanda Insights): "I expect crude to continue grinding lower until the backlog of stranded barrels has cleared, and prices could even swing into oversold territory. The real test of normalisation will come after that."
• Neil Crosby (Sparta Commodities): "This is by no means a stable or sustainable situation. Not for the politics, as we can all see. But also not for the state of the oil market itself in terms of supply, demand and trade. Many large moving parts are in play."

Transit Update¶

• 40 vessels transited Tuesday (MarineTraffic), up from 27 on Monday, 22 on Sunday
• Traffic still far below ~130 pre-war daily crossings
• At least 49 attacks on commercial vessels recorded since the war began (MarineTraffic)