PANews reported on March 23 that US President Trump posted a message stating that the US and Iran had had very good and productive talks over the past two days, and that he had instructed a five-day suspension of all military strikes against Iranian power plants and energy infrastructure, provided that the ongoing meetings and discussions were successful. International oil prices fell sharply in response, with Brent crude futures prices dropping by more than 14% to around $96 per barrel, while WTI crude and European natural gas prices also declined.