Crude futures slumped on Monday morning on signs over the weekend of de-escalation between the US and Iran.

ICE April Brent futures traded at $65.84/bl as of 8:06 AM in London, down by 5% from Friday‘s close of $69.32/bl.

A drop of this scale would be equivalent to a fall of more than $26/mt in bunker prices in metric tonnes.

US President Donald Trump told reporters on Saturday that Iran was ‘seriously talking’ to the US after increased tensions between the two countries that have flared up in recent weeks.

President Trump has previously threatened to intervene in Iran if it does not agree to a new nuclear deal or if it continued violence against anti-government protesters.