President Donald Trump has frequently attempted to contain the rising price of oil by telling investors what they want to hear: the conflict in Iran is nearly done. But after hearing that message for weeks, with fighting still going on and no plans to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, they’re starting to tune him out.
Nearly two weeks after Trump’s unexpected declaration of “productive talks with Iran” sent a jolt of optimism through the oil markets, energy analysts and traders say the president’s attempts to coerce investors into lowering prices have cost him his credibility and convinced them that the war’s economic consequences are only going to worsen.
Gregory Brew, a senior analyst on Iran and the energy industry at political risk firm Eurasia Group, said he has been saying the same thing for the past two weeks. “But what he’s talking about doesn’t matter, because he’s continuing the war and the Iranians aren’t buying it.”
After Trump claimed again on Wednesday that Iran was seeking a cease-fire, oil markets, fatigued by days of headfakes, barely responded. That night, Trump’s claim that the battle was “nearly complete” was swiftly eclipsed by his promise to increase the US bombing campaign while leaving it to other countries to try to reopen the strait.
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