Crude oil futures declined by more than 4 per cent on Monday morning after US President Donald Trump said that Iran was seriously talking with the US. Escalating tensions between the two nations in recent days had helped support the price of crude oil.
At 9.57 am on Monday, April Brent oil futures were at $66.24, down by 4.44 per cent, and March crude oil futures on WTI (West Texas Intermediate) were at $62.19, down by 4.63 per cent. February crude oil futures were trading at ₹5,710 on Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) during the initial hour of trading on Monday against the previous close of ₹5,980, down by 4.52 per cent, and March futures were trading at ₹5,704 against the previous close of ₹5,953, down by 4.18 per cent.
Quoting an unnamed Iranian official, a Reuters report said that the naval forces of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards have no plan to carry out live-fire exercises in the Strait of Hormuz as reported by some media outlets earlier this week.
“There was no plan for the Guards to hold military exercises there and there was no official announcement about it. Only media reports which were wrong,” the official said.
Comments from both the nations helped ease tensions in crude oil market.
Meanwhile, the OPEC+ (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies) have decided to keep production output unchanged for March. The eight member countries met virtually on February 1, to review global market conditions and outlook, and they reaffirmed their decision to pause production increments in March 2026.
The eight participating countries reiterated that the 1.65 million barrels per day may be returned in part or in full subject to evolving market conditions and in a gradual manner. The countries will continue to closely monitor and assess market conditions, and in their continuous efforts to support market stability, they reaffirmed the importance of adopting a cautious approach and retaining full flexibility to continue pausing or reverse the additional voluntary production adjustments, including the previously implemented voluntary adjustments of the 2.2 million barrels per day announced in November 2023.
February natural gas futures were trading at ₹356.30 on MCX during the initial hour of trading on Monday against the previous close of ₹404.80, down by 11.98 per cent.
On the National Commodities and Derivatives Exchange (NCDEX), February guargum contracts were trading at ₹9,952 in the initial hour of trading on Monday against the previous close of ₹10,044, down by 0.92 per cent.
April turmeric (farmer polished) futures were trading at ₹16,206 on NCDEX in the initial hour of trading on Monday against the previous close of ₹16326, down by 0.74 per cent.
Published on February 2, 2026
