Brent crude dropped below $74 a barrel on Wednesday for the first time since the start of the Iran war in late February, as investors continued to price out the geopolitical risk premium that had driven energy markets higher during the conflict.

As oil prices continued to retreat, international benchmark Brent crude briefly touched levels below $74 a barrel on Wednesday afternoon, having traded below $75 since midday for the first time since the Iran war began on 28 February.

Investor confidence has been boosted by increasing tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz and progress in the US-Iran peace talks.

However, disagreements over nuclear inspections and sanctions remain unresolved, raising questions about how durable the agreement will be.

Meanwhile, shipping through the Strait of Hormuz is gradually recovering after months of disruption, although traffic remains below pre-war levels, analysts said.

Before the conflict, the Strait of Hormuz handled about 125 to 140 vessel crossings per day, including roughly 20 million barrels of oil and petroleum products daily, equivalent to around a quarter of global seaborne oil trade.

Reflecting the recovery in Gulf energy flows, the International Energy Agency said UAE oil exports had rebounded to nearly 85% of pre-war levels in early June, reaching about 4.3 million barrels per day, up from 1.9 million barrels per day in March.

Reuters also reports that traders are increasingly factoring in the possibility that Iranian crude exports could return more fully to the market because of the temporary sanctions waiver and progress in the peace process. Analysts say this is contributing to the latest leg down in oil prices, beyond the recovery in tanker traffic.

Oil prices have now fallen by nearly 40% from their wartime highs, with Brent crude peaking at around $118 a barrel.

Brent futures for next-month delivery have traded below $80 a barrel in recent days but remain above the $72.48 level recorded on the day before the war began.

Benchmark US crude fell to $70.36 a barrel by 3 pm CEST. It was around $67 a barrel before the war.

Trump targets US fuel prices

Early Wednesday, President Donald Trump said the Justice Department would investigate oil companies for price gouging.

Trump said on social media that gasoline prices are not matching the decline in oil prices and that he had instructed the Justice Department “to immediately start looking into this”.

US crude oil prices have eased following the interim deal with Iran, and prices at the pump are averaging $3.93 a gallon, according to AAA.

Gasoline costs have fallen over the past month, though not as much as Trump would like.

“In other words, customers are being ‘gouged,’” Trump posted. “I have instructed the DOJ to immediately start looking into this. Gasoline prices better start going down a lot faster than what I’m seeing!”

Gold falls under $4,000 as markets focus on inflation and interest rates

Gold prices fell below the key psychological threshold of $4,000 per ounce on Wednesday for the first time since November 2025, as a stronger US dollar and expectations of higher interest rates weighed on demand for the precious metal.

The dollar strengthened, making gold more expensive for buyers using other currencies, while investors increased their bets on further US rate rises after the Federal Reserve struck a hawkish tone at its latest policy meeting.

The Federal Reserve has signalled that it could raise interest rates at least once before the end of the year. Wall Street sees an 85% chance that the central bank will raise its benchmark interest rate this year, according to data from CME Group. That’s compared with 60% a week earlier.

Investors are also awaiting Thursday's release of the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index, the Fed's preferred measure of inflation, for further clues on the path of monetary policy.

Meanwhile, bond yields remained elevated as investors assessed the inflationary implications of higher energy prices. The yield on the benchmark 10-year US Treasury stood at 4.48% early on Wednesday.

In Europe, markets were mixed by the afternoon. Britain's FTSE 100 was little changed, Germany's DAX fell 1.1%, while France's CAC 40 rose 0.4%.

– with Agencies inputs --