{"id":58647,"date":"2026-02-17T10:08:29","date_gmt":"2026-02-17T14:08:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/oil-slumps-as-us-iran-talks-progress-feds-goolsbee-flags-inflation-risks\/58647\/"},"modified":"2026-02-17T10:08:29","modified_gmt":"2026-02-17T14:08:29","slug":"oil-slumps-as-us-iran-talks-progress-feds-goolsbee-flags-inflation-risks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/oil-slumps-as-us-iran-talks-progress-feds-goolsbee-flags-inflation-risks\/58647\/","title":{"rendered":"Oil Slumps as US-Iran Talks Progress; Fed\u2019s Goolsbee Flags Inflation Risks"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Key Takeaways<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Brent crude futures fell over 1%<\/strong> following reports that Iran and the U.S. have reached an &quot;understanding on main principles&quot; during diplomatic talks in Geneva.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee<\/strong> warned that services inflation is <strong>&quot;not tame,&quot;<\/strong> suggesting that recent headline inflation drops were largely the result of <strong>base effects<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Morgan Stanley (<a href=\"\/stock\/MS\">MS<\/a>)<\/strong> assumed coverage of North American large-cap banks with an <strong>&quot;Attractive&quot; view<\/strong>, naming <strong>Citigroup (<a href=\"\/stock\/C\">C<\/a>)<\/strong> as its top pick in the sector.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Donald Trump<\/strong> issued a tribute to civil rights leader <strong>Jesse Jackson<\/strong>, who passed away at age 84, highlighting Jackson&#39;s role in the development of <strong>Opportunity Zones<\/strong> and criminal justice reform.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Energy Markets and Geopolitics<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Oil futures<\/strong> retreated on Tuesday, with <strong>Brent crude<\/strong> dropping more than <strong>1%<\/strong> to trade below <strong>$68 per barrel<\/strong>. The sell-off was triggered by comments from Iran\u2019s Foreign Minister, who announced that Tehran and Washington have reached an <strong>&quot;understanding on main principles&quot;<\/strong> regarding their ongoing negotiations.<\/p>\n<p>The two parties are reportedly working on <strong>potential agreement documents<\/strong> and have begun exchanging them, marking a significant development compared to previous rounds of talks. <em>Market participants are pricing in the possibility of increased Iranian oil exports reaching global markets if a formal deal leads to the lifting of U.S. sanctions.<\/em><\/p>\n<h2>Federal Reserve and Inflation Outlook<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee<\/strong> provided a sobering update on the U.S. inflation trajectory, stating that <strong>services inflation<\/strong> remains a persistent challenge and is <strong>&quot;not tame.&quot;<\/strong> Speaking to CNBC, Goolsbee noted that while headline inflation has appeared to cool recently, much of that downward movement was driven by <strong>base effects<\/strong> rather than a fundamental easing of price pressures.<\/p>\n<p>Goolsbee\u2019s comments signal that the <strong>Federal Reserve<\/strong> remains cautious about declaring victory over inflation. <em>Investors are closely monitoring these remarks as they suggest the central bank may maintain higher interest rates for a longer period to ensure services costs are brought under control.<\/em><\/p>\n<h2>Financial Sector Coverage<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Morgan Stanley (<a href=\"\/stock\/MS\">MS<\/a>)<\/strong> has turned bullish on the North American banking industry, assuming coverage of large-cap banks with an <strong>&quot;Attractive&quot;<\/strong> outlook. The firm highlighted a favorable environment for capital markets and potential regulatory easing as tailwinds for the sector heading into the remainder of 2026.<\/p>\n<p>The investment bank identified <strong>Citigroup (<a href=\"\/stock\/C\">C<\/a>)<\/strong> as its <strong>top pick<\/strong> among major lenders. Analysts pointed to Citigroup\u2019s ongoing restructuring efforts and its attractive valuation as key drivers for future outperformance. <em>The endorsement from Morgan Stanley helped bolster sentiment for large-cap financial stocks during Tuesday&#39;s trading session.<\/em><\/p>\n<h2>Political Developments and Tributes<\/h2>\n<p>Former President <strong>Donald Trump<\/strong> released a statement honoring the legacy of <strong>Jesse Jackson<\/strong>, describing the late civil rights activist as a <strong>&quot;force of nature.&quot;<\/strong> Trump credited Jackson with playing a significant role in the passage of the <strong>Opportunity Zones<\/strong> economic package, which he described as the most successful development program for Black business owners to date.<\/p>\n<p>Trump also reflected on his personal history with Jackson, noting that he provided office space for the <strong>Rainbow Coalition<\/strong> at the <strong>Trump Building at 40 Wall Street<\/strong> for several years. The statement also touched upon Jackson&#39;s advocacy for <strong>criminal justice reform<\/strong>, a policy area where Trump claimed to have succeeded where other presidents had not.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Key Takeaways Brent crude futures fell over 1% following reports that Iran and the U.S. have reached an &quot;understanding on [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":50383,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"rank_math_schema_Article":[],"rank_math_focus_keyword":[],"rank_math_description":[],"financial_data_references":[],"stock_symbols_mentioned":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[5012],"tags":[1947,3710,3774,3775,4462,4824,5515,6124,17295],"class_list":["post-58647","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-breaking-news","tag-oil","tag-federal-reserve","tag-c","tag-ms","tag-brent-crude","tag-geopolitics","tag-citigroup","tag-morgan-stanley","tag-jesse-jackson"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58647","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=58647"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58647\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/50383"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=58647"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=58647"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=58647"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}