Oil Falls, Asian Equities Mixed as Traders Parse Middle East Developments

By Amanda Lee

Oil prices continued to decline early Wednesday as traders parsed comments from President Trump regarding the prospects of a deal with Iran to resolve a conflict that has roiled energy markets and revived inflation fears.

Trump said he had a "big decision to make": whether to make a deal with Iran that "lets them rebuild" or to "annihilate the Islamic Republic, and do it quickly."

"I believe we'll make a deal right after the election, because it doesn't make sense for [the Iranians] not to," he said in a speech at the United Nations General Assembly adding that an agreement would send oil prices below prewar levels.

In a post on X, U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff said that "on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, we engaged in lengthy talks with the Iranian delegation through the mediators, who shuttled between the two sides throughout the day."

"They successfully completed a round of discussions that we hope will prove constructive and promising. The mediators will continue their work," he said.

Front-month West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures fell 0.6% to $89.96 a barrel, while front-month Brent crude oil futures dropped 0.3% to $98.97 a barrel.

Markets will closely watch diplomatic talks between U.S. and Iran for signs of a potential reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, ANZ Research analysts said.

Stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region were mixed, with Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index declining 0.9% and Shanghai Composite Index falling 0.3%. Meanwhile, South Korea's Kospi was up 0.4% and Taiwan's Taiex was 0.7% higher.

Markets in Japan were closed Wednesday for a public holiday.

Asian currencies consolidated against the greenback. The dollar was 0.2% higher at 157.62 yen and 0.1% lower at 1,352.10 won, while the Australian dollar traded 0.1% lower at US$0.7102, according to LSEG data.

Write to Amanda Lee at amanda.lee@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 22, 2026 22:55 ET (02:55 GMT)