{"id":65844,"date":"2026-08-02T21:38:20","date_gmt":"2026-08-03T01:38:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/oil-prices-tumble-as-trump-halts-iran-strike-indonesia-clarifies-rare-earth-policy\/65844\/"},"modified":"2026-08-02T21:38:20","modified_gmt":"2026-08-03T01:38:20","slug":"oil-prices-tumble-as-trump-halts-iran-strike-indonesia-clarifies-rare-earth-policy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/oil-prices-tumble-as-trump-halts-iran-strike-indonesia-clarifies-rare-earth-policy\/65844\/","title":{"rendered":"Oil Prices Tumble as Trump Halts Iran Strike; Indonesia Clarifies Rare Earth Policy"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_84 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 eztoc-toggle-hide-by-default' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"#\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/oil-prices-tumble-as-trump-halts-iran-strike-indonesia-clarifies-rare-earth-policy\/65844\/#Key_Takeaways\" >Key Takeaways<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"#\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/oil-prices-tumble-as-trump-halts-iran-strike-indonesia-clarifies-rare-earth-policy\/65844\/#Energy_Markets_React_to_Middle_East_Diplomacy\" >Energy Markets React to Middle East Diplomacy<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"#\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/oil-prices-tumble-as-trump-halts-iran-strike-indonesia-clarifies-rare-earth-policy\/65844\/#Indonesia_Resolves_Mineral_Export_Bottlenecks\" >Indonesia Resolves Mineral Export Bottlenecks<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"#\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/oil-prices-tumble-as-trump-halts-iran-strike-indonesia-clarifies-rare-earth-policy\/65844\/#Central_Bank_Actions_and_Economic_Indicators\" >Central Bank Actions and Economic Indicators<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"#\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/oil-prices-tumble-as-trump-halts-iran-strike-indonesia-clarifies-rare-earth-policy\/65844\/#Corporate_Growth_and_Technology_Investments\" >Corporate Growth and Technology Investments<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"#\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/oil-prices-tumble-as-trump-halts-iran-strike-indonesia-clarifies-rare-earth-policy\/65844\/#Regional_Developments_Egypt_Earthquake\" >Regional Developments: Egypt Earthquake<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Key_Takeaways\"><\/span>Key Takeaways<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Global <a href=\"https:\/\/stockmarketwatch.com\/energy\/crude-oil\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"12\" title=\"Crude oil\">oil prices<\/a> plummeted over 4%<\/strong> after U.S. President Donald Trump canceled a planned military strike on Iran, citing progress toward a nuclear deal and the reopening of the <strong>Strait of Hormuz<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Indonesia clarified its rare earth export policy<\/strong>, confirming that bans apply only to standalone products, which allows shipments of alumina and nickel byproducts to resume following recent bottlenecks.<\/li>\n<li><strong>The People\u2019s Bank of China (PBoC)<\/strong> injected <strong>300 billion yuan<\/strong> through overnight reverse repos to stabilize liquidity, while maintaining its 7-day reverse repo rate at <strong>1.40%<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Japanese giants NTT (<a href=\"\/stock\/6701\">6701<\/a>) and Toyota (<a href=\"\/stock\/7203\">7203<\/a>)<\/strong> are leading a record year for capital expenditure in Japan, driven by massive investments in <strong>AI infrastructure<\/strong> and automated factory technologies.<\/li>\n<li><strong>A magnitude 5.3 earthquake<\/strong> struck near Suez, Egypt, prompting the Health Ministry to raise hospital alert levels across the region as tremors were felt as far as Cairo.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Energy_Markets_React_to_Middle_East_Diplomacy\"><\/span>Energy Markets React to Middle East Diplomacy<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Crude oil futures saw a sharp sell-off early Monday after President Donald Trump announced the cancellation of a joint U.S.-Israeli strike on Iranian energy infrastructure. Trump stated on social media that he held off on the attack to pursue a &quot;rough framework&quot; of a deal that would include the <strong>immediate and total opening of the Strait of Hormuz<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Brent crude<\/strong> fell <strong>$4.08 (4.64%)<\/strong> to <strong>$83.85<\/strong>, while <strong>U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI)<\/strong> dropped <strong>$4.01 (4.74%)<\/strong> to settle near <strong>$80.66<\/strong> per barrel. Despite the diplomatic overtures, Iranian officials remain on high alert, describing the U.S. shift as &quot;psychological operations&quot; while negotiations are set to begin later today.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Indonesia_Resolves_Mineral_Export_Bottlenecks\"><\/span>Indonesia Resolves Mineral Export Bottlenecks<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Indonesia has moved to stabilize its mining sector by clarifying that its rare earth export ban is restricted to standalone rare earth products. The announcement follows a week of disruptions where shipments of <strong>alumina, copper cathodes, and nickel byproducts<\/strong> were delayed due to trace amounts of rare earth elements found in surveyor reports.<\/p>\n<p>Government officials confirmed that mineral shipments without standalone rare earth concentrations have continued since Sunday. This clarification is expected to ease supply chain concerns for global aluminum and stainless steel producers who rely on Indonesian raw materials.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Central_Bank_Actions_and_Economic_Indicators\"><\/span>Central Bank Actions and Economic Indicators<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>The <strong>People\u2019s Bank of China (PBoC)<\/strong> conducted significant open market operations on Monday, injecting <strong>300 billion yuan<\/strong> via overnight reverse repos. While the bank drained a net <strong>562.5B yuan<\/strong> through other operations, it kept the 7-day reverse repo rate steady at <strong>1.40%<\/strong>, signaling a continued moderately loose monetary stance to support the domestic economy.<\/p>\n<p>In Australia, the <strong>Melbourne Institute<\/strong> reported that July inflation expectations rose to <strong>4.0%<\/strong> year-on-year, up from <strong>3.9%<\/strong> in the previous month. This uptick comes as the <strong>Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA)<\/strong> continues to monitor sticky underlying inflation despite multiple rate hikes earlier this year.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Corporate_Growth_and_Technology_Investments\"><\/span>Corporate Growth and Technology Investments<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>German robotics startup <strong>Agile Robots<\/strong> is reportedly on track to double its revenue this year, according to a report from the <em>Wall Street Journal<\/em>. The company has benefited from a surge in demand for &quot;physical AI,&quot; securing a position as a key player in the European industrial automation market alongside partners like <strong>Foxconn<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>In Japan, a record year for capital expenditure is being fueled by <strong>NTT (<a href=\"\/stock\/6701\">6701<\/a>)<\/strong> and <strong>Toyota (<a href=\"\/stock\/7203\">7203<\/a>)<\/strong>. The two firms recently committed to a <strong>500 billion yen ($3.26 billion)<\/strong> joint R&amp;D investment to integrate AI into self-driving systems and factory automation, reflecting a broader national trend toward high-tech industrial revitalization.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Regional_Developments_Egypt_Earthquake\"><\/span>Regional Developments: Egypt Earthquake<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>A <strong>magnitude 5.3 earthquake<\/strong> centered 38 km from <strong>Suez<\/strong> struck Egypt at approximately 3:00 a.m. local time. The shallow quake, with a depth of 10 km, caused significant tremors in <strong>Cairo<\/strong> and surrounding provinces. While no immediate casualties were reported, the <strong>Egyptian Health Ministry<\/strong> has increased hospital readiness as a precautionary measure.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Key Takeaways Global oil prices plummeted over 4% after U.S. President Donald Trump canceled a planned military strike on Iran, [&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":[970,3872,4461,4664,5142,5596,21120,21121,21122],"class_list":["post-65844","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-breaking-news","tag-wti","tag-rba","tag-crude-oil","tag-iran","tag-pboc","tag-indonesia","tag-ntt-6701-stock-6701","tag-toyota-7203-stock-7203","tag-agile-robots"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65844","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=65844"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65844\/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=65844"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=65844"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=65844"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}