Oil drops below ksh10K as US-Iran deal hopes shake global markets
By Associated Press, June 17, 2026Asian shares were mixed, and oil was trading below Ksh10,400 a barrel on Wednesday, June 17, 2026, as markets watched for details on the interim agreement between the U.S. and Iran to end the war.
U.S. futures edged higher ahead of the Federal Reserve’s policy decision announcement and after Wall Street closed mixed near their record highs.
Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 was 0.8 per cent higher at 69,926.08 near its all-time high set this week, after official data showed Japan’s exports jumped 17 per cent in May 2026 from a year earlier, helped in part by strong demand for high-tech products.
South Korea’s Kospi edged 0.2 per cent lower to 8,706.10 with losses in big technology stocks tracking a sell-off of artificial intelligence-related shares on Wall Street. Samsung Electronics, the country’s most valuable company, fell 1.9 per cent.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 0.8 per cent to 24,273.95, while the Shanghai Composite index slipped 0.1 per cent to 4,089.26.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 climbed 0.5 per cent to 8,965.30. Taiwan’s Taiex fell 0.5 per cent. India’s Sensex rose 0.3 per cent.
Oil prices stabilised after falling sharply earlier on optimism of an end to the war and a possible reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, crucial for oil and gas transit worldwide. But challenges remain, including whether the peace deal includes Israel’s withdrawal from Lebanon.
Brent crude, the international standard, traded 0.3 per cent lower at Ksh10,200 per barrel early Wednesday after falling more than 5 per cent on Tuesday, June 16, 2026. It was still elevated compared to the roughly Ksh9,100 a barrel level in late February before the war started.
Benchmark U.S. crude was down 0.4 per cent to Ksh9,850 a barrel.
“Normalising (oil) flows will take time,” economists at HSBC wrote in a note this week. “Hurdles include mine clearance, insurance reinstatement, emptying excess Gulf oil storage, repositioning ships, and restarting idled production fields.”
In the U.S., the Fed on Tuesday began its two-day meeting, the first under its new chair, Kevin Warsh, that would discuss interest rates, with a decision announcement set for Wednesday.
U.S. President Donald Trump has been pressing the Fed for lower rates to help stimulate the U.S. economy, but fresh worries are rising on worsening inflation over the Iran war-caused energy shock.