Bitcoin fell sharply as oil prices surged over 20% in 15 minutes on Sunday following escalating Middle East tensions. Iraq warned that up to 3 million barrels per day of production could be disrupted due to Iranian threats against tankers. The spike drove oil to its highest price since April 2022, while Bitcoin dropped nearly 2% from about $67,000 before partially recovering.
Bitcoin fell nearly 2% in just 15 minutes on Sunday while oil prices rose almost 20%. This occurred as the escalating Middle East conflict prompted fears of a major supply shortage in the global energy market.
Data shows oil prices rose from $95 to $113.7 per barrel shortly after US futures markets opened. Iraq warned that roughly 3 million barrels per day of production could be disrupted due to Iranian threats against tankers in the Strait of Hormuz.
The price of oil rose more than 30% last week after the US and Israel struck Iran. TradingView data indicates this is the highest price since April 2022, a few weeks after Russia commenced its invasion of Ukraine.
Bitcoin fell from $66,960 to $65,725 by 10:30 pm UTC on Sunday as US futures markets opened. It later bounced back up to $66,272 according to available data.
The price of oil has since cooled off to $105 per barrel. Bitcoin climbed during the conflict last week, which saw the death of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei.
It rose from below $64,000 to $73,770 by Wednesday. However, Bitcoin’s price has fallen over the last four consecutive days since then.
Despite the boom in oil prices, Trump expects the rapid rise to be short-lived. “We figured oil prices would go up, which they will. They’ll also come down. They’ll come down very fast,” Trump told reporters on Saturday.
Trump also shrugged off the idea that the US may need to tap its Strategic Petroleum Reserve. “We’ve got a lot of oil. Our country has a tremendous amount,” Trump stated.
