Oil prices fell below $80 a barrel on Tuesday, August 4, 2026, as global stock markets broke record after record on hopes for a peace deal with Iran and anticipated positive results from SpaceX due to be announced later that evening.
At around 7:15 p.m. Greek time, Brent North Sea crude for October delivery fell 5.16%, to $79.45 a barrel. U.S. WTI crude for September delivery dropped 5.36%, to $76.03 a barrel.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said earlier in an interview with the CNBC television network that the United States was in talks with the Iranians and that he believed there was hope of reaching a deal that day or the next on opening the Strait of Hormuz.
European markets set fresh records
In Europe, key indices hit historic highs on the stock exchanges of Paris, Frankfurt, Milan and Madrid.
In Paris, the CAC 40 rose 0.61% to 8,666.63 points, surpassing the record it had set on February 26, 2026, just before the war in Iran began, when it closed at 8,620.93 points.
In Milan, the FTSE MIB gained 1.26% to close at 53,540.50 points, above its previous recent record of 52,959.14 points set on July 6.
In Frankfurt, the DAX broke the record it had set the day before, rising 0.77% to 26,202.35 points. In Madrid, the IBEX passed the 20,000-point threshold for the first time, rising 0.21% to close at 20,023.60 points.
The London Stock Exchange also rose, up 0.20%, though it did not set a record because shares of oil companies fell, with BP down 4.91% and Shell down 2.47%.
