[MARKET ANALYSIS] Oil whipsaws after a Kuwaiti crude carrier was targeted by Iran in a Dubai port, while President Trump reportedly told aides he is willing to end the war without reopening Hormuz

The targeted attack on a Kuwaiti crude carrier by Iran has initially driven oil prices higher due to escalated tensions in the Middle East.

Newsquawk StaffPublished 31 Mar 2026, 02:42 UTCOn the live feed at 02:22 UTC — 3 more headlines followed before this page went public

Newsquawk headlinesUTC

02:40

Power outage hits east of Tehran following explosions

02:38

[MARKET ANALYSIS] T-note futures remain afloat amid likely rebalancing heading into quarter-end

02:22

[MARKET ANALYSIS] Oil whipsaws after a Kuwaiti crude carrier was targeted by Iran in a Dubai port, while President Trump reportedly told aides he is willing to end the war without reopening Hormuz

02:19

USTR Greer slams WTO after ecommerce tariff talks fail, according to FT

02:17

US officials cited by CNN says it is not clear whether the Iranian figures receiving their messages have the final authority to approve any agreement

Open the platform and use it. The whole workspace is free to try, with no signup and no card. When you want the headlines arriving live instead of on a delay, Newsquawk Pro is £24.99 for 7 days.

Try the platform free

Free. No signup, no card.

WTI/Brent: WTI May'26 -1.0% / Brent Jun'26 -1.6%

Oil saw two-way price action as crude futures initially extended on the prior day's gains owing to the recent escalation in the Middle East and Iran's continued denial that negotiations are taking place, while further upside was seen after reports of an Iranian strike on a Kuwaiti crude carrier in Dubai's port. However, oil later faded all of its early overnight gains and more after a report that US President Trump told aides he is willing to end the war without reopening Hormuz.

Gold: +1.7%

Climbed higher with the metals complex underpinned as oil pulled back and as sentiment gradually improved.

Copper: +0.4%

Benefitted from hopes of a sooner end to the Middle East conflict and after Chinese PMI data returned to expansionary territory.

Context

However, President Trump's willingness to resolve the conflict without reopening the Strait of Hormuz appears to have subdued the market's reaction, leading to a reversal in oil prices. This dynamic creates uncertainty in energy markets, potentially influencing risk sentiment across multiple asset classes.

FX · last 90 days

Recent headlines that moved markets

FX/28 Aug · 14:00 UTC

Fed Chair Warsh says Fed has more work to do unless confident underlying inflation is moving towards 2% objective

DXY, after we published+0.5%

DXY saw two-way action, before then moving to a high. - Immediately after the release, Fed market pricing moved to price in a 50% chance of a hike in September vs 36% pre-release.

FX/7 Sept · 06:00 UTC

Swedish CPIF Prel (Aug YY) 0.7% vs. Exp. 0.8% (Prev. 0.7%).

With EUR/SEK, after we published+0.3%

FX/4 Sept · 12:39 UTC

Airbus (AIR FP) reportedly reaches a pre-agreement with Spanish unions, Democrata reports.

Market, after we published+1.4%

FX/4 Sept · 12:30 UTC

US Non Farm Payrolls (Aug) 162K vs. Exp. 56K (Prev. 21K); 2-month net revision +55k; Birth-Death 154K.

- DXY, after we published−2.4%

FX/4 Sept · 12:30 UTC

US Non Farm Payrolls (Aug) 162K vs. Exp. 56K (Prev. 21K); 2-month net revision +55k; Birth-Death 154K.

- DXY, after we published+0.4%

FX/4 Sept · 08:30 UTC

BoE DMP (Aug): 1-year CPI expectation 3.1% (prev. 3.4%), 3-year CPI expectation 2.8% (prev. 2.8%).

Market, after we published+0.3%

Newsquawk Daily

Get both market opens in your inbox.

This note and the other one — the EU open and the US open, every business day, written by the desk. No account needed.

Related headlines

The whole workspace, free to try.

© 2026 Newsquawk. All rights reserved.