17 July 2018 ( Lagos ) : Asian equities fell on Tuesday after Oil prices tumbled by more than 4.6% during the previous session, following reports that Saudi Arabia has offered additional crude supplies to some of its Asian customers and that the U.S. may release some of its strategic petroleum reserves to bring prices down.

Another factor that contributed to the fall in prices were the comments from Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, who said some crude importers might receive waivers to continue buying Iranian Oil in an attempt to avoid roiling global markets. While such waivers would release some pressure off Iran, it would also cheer U.S. motorists by bringing their bills down during the summer season. After all, President Trump doesn’t want any more headaches ahead of November’s mid-term elections; so far, it seems his strategy is working.

Source: Hussein Sayed, Chief Market Strategist at FXTM

Reporting for EasyKobo on Tuesday, 17 July 2018 in Lagos, Nigeria