Crude oil prices trade at $78/bbl as Trump signs US-Iran peace deal in Versailles; gold down 0.9%

Crude oil prices were trading around $78 per barrel (bbl) during the early market hours on Thursday, June 18, as the energy prices edged closer to the pre-war level amid reports of President Donald Trump signing the peace agreement.

Latest media reports showed that Trump told reporters that he has signed a hard copy of the US-Iran peace agreement in Versailles on Wednesday night. The 800-word agreement is aimed at expanding the ceasefire deal while maintaining trade flow through the Strait of Hormuz.

Investing.com data showed that after more than three months of oil prices staying at an elevated level due to the West Asia crisis, the energy rates are finally heading towards their pre-conflict levels.

Global benchmark Brent crude oil prices were around $71-72 per barrel (bbl) a day before US President Donald Trump, in collaboration with Israel, launched the first offensive against Iran in West Asia back on Saturday, February 28, 2026.

Oil prices today

At 7:49 am (IST), the Brent crude oil prices were trading 1.5% lower at $78.30 per bbl on Thursday’s market session, compared to $79.55 per bbl at the previous market close, according to Investing.com data.

The data further showed that the crude oil prices have declined by over 13% in one week, more than 27% in the last month, and over 23% in the last three-month period in the global market.

The US-based West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil prices were trading 1.8% lower at $75.41 per bbl on Thursday, compared to $76.79 per bbl at the previous commodity market close, as per the exchange data.

US-Iran peace deal update

While President Trump told reporters that he had signed the US-Iran peace agreement in Versailles, France, on Wednesday night, the Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian also signed the MoU with the United States, according to a CNN report.

According to an official aware of the development cited in the news report, after Trump signed a hard copy, the United States sent a photograph of the signed agreement to the Iranians on Wednesday.

The agreement is set to be effective on an immediate basis, but earlier reports suggest that the Strait of Hormuz is expected to be fully re-opened in a few days' time.

Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf warned that “if the United States does not honour its commitments, there is no way Iran will honour its own commitments,” according to the news portal.

Gold prices today

The New York Mercantile Exchange-based COMEX gold prices were trading 0.9% lower at $4,340.50 per ounce as of 9:49 pm (ET) in the United States on Wednesday evening, compared to $4,381.40 per ounce at the previous commodity market close.

The gold prices were trading lower on Thursday morning market hours, India time, due to the US Federal Reserve’s decision to keep the key interest rates on hold at 3.5-3.75%. The central bank’s policy stance comes amid a rising inflation trend in the US economy.

The US central bank’s policy towards a restrictive-like stance is likely to fuel the capital flows into higher-yielding assets, as the safety of gold does not attract investors amid the easing geopolitical situation.

Apart from the policy stance move, the US dollar is witnessing major support from the yield advantage in the US economy, a factor that is weighing down the gold prices while fuelling the demand for the greenback currency.

Data collected from the Bloomberg US dollar spot index (DYX) showed that the greenback was trading 0.18% higher at 100.268 as of 9:53 pm (ET) on Wednesday evening, compared to the previous market close.