Oil price falls and markets rally after Trump says Iran war over in ‘two to three weeks’

US president’s claim that conflict is nearing end prompts 15% drop in Brent crude and stock market climb in Asia Oil prices tumbled and stock markets have rallied across the world after Donald Trump said the war in Iran would end in “two to three weeks”. Brent crude, the international benchmark for oil, fell as low as $98.35 a barrel on Wednesday, down more than 15% on the previous day and its lowest level in a week. It later recovered some ground, ending the day at $102. Stock markets rallied in Asia, where economies are highly exposed to shortages of oil and gas coming out of the Gulf. Japan’s Nikkei surged up 5%, while the South Korean Kospi jumped by 8%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose by 2% and China’s CSI 300 index was up by 1.7%. European stock markets followed Asia higher, with the UK’s blue-chip FTSE 100 closing 1.8% higher by the end of trading on Wednesday, marking its biggest one-day gain in almost a year. The Europe Stoxx 600 index, which tracks the biggest companies across the continent, rose by 2.4%. Trump, talking about the war in Iran, said on Tuesday: “Now we’re finishing the job. I think in two weeks or maybe a few days longer, we’ll do the job. We