Oil prices plunge 15% to below $100, stocks surge and dollar slumps after Trump announces US-Iran ceasefire – as it happened

Oil prices drop most since pandemic while gas prices slide 20%; government bond yields fall sharply as rate hike expectations recede Markets have been cheered by news of the two-week ceasefire between the US, Israel and Iran. However, this excludes Lebanon, where Israel has carried out its biggest wave of air strikes today since the war there began on 2 March. Iran has agreed to reopen the strait of Hormuz, where around 1,000 ships have been trapped. A senior Iranian official told Reuters Tehran could open the key shipping route on Thursday or Friday ahead of peace talks in Islamabad. Brent crude, the international oil benchmark, has tumbled 15.5% to $92.28 a barrel, down nearly $17. As is stands, it is on track for its biggest daily drop since April 2020, the start of the Covid pandemic, when the price fell 24%. UK gas prices have tumbled 18%, taking the May delivery contract 24.3p lower to 110.67p per therm. Stock markets have rallied around the world, starting in Asia where Japan’s Nikkei leapt 5.4% and South Korea’s Kospi soared 7.5%. Over here, the FTSE 100 in London is 275 points, or 2.66% ahead at 10,623. Germany’s Dax jumped 5.2%. On Wall Street, stocks surged to one-