Brent oil futures fall as low as $98 ahead of Trump’s address on Iran war

Brent crude futures dipped below $98, driven by anticipation of President Trump's address regarding potential military action against Iran. This price movement reflects market anxiety over geopolitical instability in the Middle East, a key oil-producing region. While an immediate conflict could spike prices, de-escalation or measured responses might further depress them due to existing oversupply concerns. Investors should monitor the tone and specifics of Trump's speech for clues on future supply disruptions or resolutions. The development arrives against a backdrop of shifting risk appetite, where investors are reassessing exposure to markets and weighing the second-order impact on adjacent sectors. Investors are watching the broader tape for follow-through. Live pricing was not available at the time of writing, but positioning data and order-book signals will shape the next session. Positioning across funds, options skew and credit spreads typically respond first; equity price action lags but tends to confirm the direction once volume returns. Readers should treat the immediate move as a sentiment proxy rather than a final verdict on fundamentals. For longer-horizon allocators the more important question is whether this changes the trajectory of cash flows, regulation or competitive dynamics. If it does, multiple compression or expansion follows; if it does not, the reaction fades within a few sessions and the prior trend reasserts itself. What to watch next: forthcoming earnings prints, central-bank guidance and any official commentary that either validates or pushes back on the market's interpretation. Reported by MarketWatch and contextualised by the Global Investing News desk under Mark