President Donald Trump said on Thursday that the rise in oil prices and the drop in U.S. stocks during the Iran war were not as severe as he had expected.
He told Cabinet officials that the market pressure should ease once the conflict ends, according to CNBC. His comments came as oil stayed elevated, stocks traded lower, and Bitcoin moved sharply on new war headlines.
President Trump tied the market moves to geopolitical pressure but said the reaction remained manageable. He also repeated his view that oil prices would retreat and that the broader economic damage would reverse.
At the same time, traders continued to react quickly to any sign of military escalation or possible talks between Washington and Tehran.
Trump says market losses are limited
During the Cabinet meeting, President Trump said oil had not risen as much as he had expected during the conflict. He told Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent that oil would return to earlier levels and could fall even lower.
He also said the stock market response had been less severe than feared.
”My predictions have been right,” President Trump said.
He added that the damage would reverse when the war ends. His remarks came as the White House kept pressure on Iran and signaled that it still wanted a deal on its own terms.
The president has often treated fuel prices and stock indexes as measures of economic performance. That made the latest market moves politically important for the administration.
President Trump had criticized former U.S. President Joe Biden when gasoline prices climbed, and he has also pointed to stock market gains as proof of economic strength.
The S&P 500 was down 4.8 percent in March and 6.5 percent from its earlier record high. Major averages stayed in negative territory as President Trump spoke. Oil also moved higher during the day, showing that markets still viewed the war as a risk to energy supply and inflation.
Oil Jumps Again as Iran Talks Show Little Progress
U.S. crude rose above $94 per barrel as peace efforts showed little progress (per Yahoo Finance data). Earlier in the conflict, oil had nearly touched $100 before easing.
Even after that pullback, prices were still up more than 40 percent during the war, while gasoline had climbed by more than $1 per gallon.
The market kept turning on every new statement from Washington, Tehran, and regional officials. President Trump posted on Truth Social that Iranian negotiators ”better get serious, before it is too late.”
That message added to fears that the conflict could widen instead of move toward a settlement.
The Kobeissi Letter reported that President Trump said Iranian officials were ”begging the US to make a deal” while publicly saying they were still reviewing the American proposal. President Trump also warned that if that window closed, ”there is no turning back, and it won’t be pretty.” Those remarks kept oil traders focused on the risk of further disruption.
Another report said the Pentagon was weighing military options that could target Iran’s oil export routes and strategic islands near the Strait of Hormuz.
President Trump also suggested that taking Iran’s oil remained ”an option,” though he did not expand on that point. The Strait remains central to market concerns because it is a major path for global crude shipments.
Economists Warn That Prolonged Conflict Could Lift Inflation
Although President Trump minimized the damage to the market, economists emerged with new questions concerning the economic future. A number of Wall Street analysts indicated that there is a greater threat of a recession in the coming 12 months unless the war is over in the near future.
They are worried about increased energy prices, stricter financial positions, and an increase in the inflation rate.
The Kobeissi Letter quoted a recent OECD projection that pegged U.S. inflation at 4.2 percent this year. It was also forecasted that the U.S. could grow at 2.0 percent in 2021 and 1.7 percent in 2027. It also forecasted slower growth within the euro zone and the G20 in general.
Those numbers fed a new debate about interest rates. If oil stays high and inflation remains sticky, central banks could face less room to ease policy. That risk has returned to focus as traders reassess the chance of future rate cuts in the United States and Europe.
U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff said the United States had given Iran a 15-point peace proposal. He said Iran was ”looking for an offramp,” though President Trump added that he was not “desperate” for a deal. That left markets balancing two opposing forces: the chance of talks and the risk of a longer war.
Bitcoin Whipsaws as Traders React to War Headlines
Bitcoin also moved sharply during the same period. After failing to hold $76,000 last week, the asset fell to $69,000 before the weekend. It then spent most of Saturday and Sunday near $70,000 and briefly reached $71,000.
Fresh threats from President Trump pushed Bitcoin below $68,500 before the start of the new trading week. It then dropped to around $67,500 when legacy futures markets reopened.
That move reversed quickly after President Trump said the United States and Iran had been in talks to reduce tensions, sending Bitcoin above $71,600 on Monday.
The rally did not last. Iran denied the claim, and Bitcoin slipped below $69,000 on Tuesday. It recovered again on Wednesday and touched a weekly high near $72,000 before sellers returned.
By Thursday, Bitcoin had fallen back toward $69,000. The price action showed how fast traders were changing positions on each new update from the conflict.