Here we go again. Why oil keeps tumbling even when the Iran war drags on

Oil prices fell again Monday, dropping 8% and tracking what would be crude’s biggest single-day decline since May 25, even as fighting between the U.S. and Iran appears to pause. Traders briefly latched onto hopes for diplomacy and restarted oil flows out of the Middle East, but analysts say the market’s signals remain thin: the Trump administration paused plans to escalate the war, and reduced weekend conflict offered only limited confirmation. The Strait of Hormuz remains effectively halted, while traffic through the Bab-al-Mandeb strait is also significantly lower as tankers avoid risks tied to Iranian and Houthi threats. The report points to “peace bias” in pricing.