President Trump said Saturday in Dublin that the Iran conflict would likely end right after U.S. midterm elections and that oil prices would then fall sharply. Asked when the war is likely to end, he told reporters, “I think very soon, I think it’ll be right after the mid-terms, actually,” according to CNBC. “I would say shortly, and oil will come tumbling down when that happens.”
A Reuters peer account used different wording, saying he thought it would be “probably right after the mid-terms” and that adversaries were trying to complicate the election, then adding that oil prices would come tumbling down when that happens. CNBC and Reuters strings are labeled separately, not blended.
CNBC cited Friday settles with Brent down 2.8% at $104.61 and WTI down 2.4% at $100.05 after a week of sharp gains above $100. Those are Friday settles, not new Saturday futures. Earlier Saturday remarks that Iran was probably behind the East-West pipeline attack remain a separate attribution thread.
Sources: CNBC / Azhar Sukri (Dublin midterms + oil tumble; Fri Brent/WTI settles; pipeline probably color); The Daily Star / Reuters (probably right after the mid-terms; oil prices will come tumbling down); Asharq Al-Awsat / Reuters (same Reuters Dublin quotes); prior East-West attribution thread (handoff only).
