Global crude futures plunged on Sunday amid mounting hopes for potential talks between the United States and Iran, which eased fears of supply disruptions in the Middle East.
By 19:00 EDT (23:00 GMT) on Sunday, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude for September delivery fell to an intraday low of 74.78 U.S. dollars per barrel, falling 5.89 dollars, or 6.96 percent, while Brent crude for October delivery dropped to an intraday low of 81.55 dollars per barrel, down 6.38 dollars, or 7.26 percent.
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Sunday that negotiations with Iran will begin on Monday afternoon, noting that Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Qatar had asked the United States to call off planned strikes against Iran because "they think there's a deal."
"There's a deal on (the Strait of) Hormuz, and then there will be a deal on the nuclear, or you might call it the denuclearization of Iran," Trump told reporters on Air Force One en route to Joint Base Andrews.
Claiming that Iran had also asked the United States to pull back the planned strikes, Trump said that "now what we're doing is we're talking to them in the form of a negotiation."
Also on Sunday, OPEC issued a statement, saying that seven key OPEC+ producers would lift collective daily crude output by 188,000 barrels in September.
Oil prices tumble on Sunday over potential US-Iran deal
As floodwaters from Typhoon Maysak receded, the jasmine fields of China's "jasmine capital" Hengzhou in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region sprang back to life, with the local flower market welcoming its peak buying season.
In early July, the typhoon drenched the region with storm and flood, inundating nearly 60 percent of Hengzhou's jasmine plantations, totaling around 100,000 mu (about 6,700 hectares).
Government relief and company support have spurred a swift recovery, with farmers once again hauling freshly picked jasmine blossoms into Hengzhou's Shijing trading market.
The current harvest is the first post-disaster flush from the less-damaged fields. Though yields are lower, having flowers to sell cheered local farmers up.
"My home was flooded for around four or five days. The government helped, and the whole jasmine chain has been rebuilt by now," said farmer Li Yeji.
As the jasmine market entered its peak procurement window, tight supply drove prices to 82 yuan (about 12 U.S. dollars) per kilogram, which is twice the usual rate.
"If growers see plenty of tea companies still buying, it gives them a real boost," said Chen Hongfei, marketing director at a local agritech firm.
"We can get through this. At these prices, we are definitely happy," local farmer Zhou Ailian went straight forward.
From the business side, tea merchant Lin Yongjian, who has worked in Hengzhou for years, saw his daily flower intake plunge to 30 percent of normal levels. He has juggled production schedules to fulfill orders while paying more to reassure growers.
"We raised prices early on to restore growers' confidence, and handed out free medicine and fertilizer to affected farmers. We are doing everything to help them recover and improve flower quality," he said.
With more farmers back in the fields, the daily trading volume at the Hengzhou jasmine market has climbed to roughly 400,000 kilograms.
"The new-style tea beverage industry currently has a large jasmine demand. As the weather improves and temperatures rise, we are fully confident about the jasmine production ahead," said Luo Yuzhen, head of the local flower tea association.
Typhoon‑hit jasmine industry in Guangxi rebounds as farmers return to fields
