Oil Drops as Investors Await Bessent's Plan to Squeeze Iran -- WSJ

By Caitlin McCabe

A retreat in oil prices is offering relief to bond yields as investors await details on Washington's stepped-up economic pressure campaign against Iran.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is expected to outline plans to inflict an "economic D-Day" on Iran at a press conference this afternoon. Brent crude futures are down more than 1%, on pace to break six straight sessions of gains, and the dollar has paused its recent slide.

Meanwhile, U.S. stock futures are starting the week on a sour note, led by losses in Nasdaq-100 contracts. That followed a slide in major tech shares in Asia, including Alibaba after it launched a $10.2 billion share sale to fund its AI spending. Chip maker Samsung also tumbled after its largest-ever shareholder return plan fell short of market expectations.

This is a big week for traders, with Nvidia earnings on Wednesday and Fed Chairman Kevin Warsh's speech at Jackson Hole on Friday. The Fed's preferred inflation gauge is also due out Wednesday.

This item is part of a Wall Street Journal live coverage event. The full stream can be found by searching P/WSJL (WSJ Live Coverage).

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 24, 2026 05:36 ET (09:36 GMT)