Oil prices dropped, extending Monday’s slide, and are now back around where they were when fighting kicked off earlier this month.

Their slide accelerated after President Trump said China could continue purchasing Iranian oil, in signal that energy markets should get back to business as usual. “Hopefully, they will be purchasing plenty from the U.S., also,” he added in a Tuesday morning post on Truth Social.

The president also resumed his criticism of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. Ahead of Powell’s testimony on Capitol Hill, Trump said on Truth Social he hoped Congress “really works this very dumb, hardheaded person over.”

Powell is set to reaffirm the Fed’s wait-and-stance on interest-rate cuts when he testifies Tuesday. Rifts are opening among Fed officials, however. In recent days, two policymakers, both Trump appointees, have signaled they would consider cutting rates in July.

Stocks rose. The Dow industrials, S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite were all up more than 0.5%.

The WSJ Dollar Index fell.

U.S. crude prices sank. Benchmark West Texas Intermediate futures retreated more than 4% to below $66 a barrel.

Global stocks rallied. The Stoxx Europe 600 rose about 1%, while indexes in China, Japan and South Korea posted solid gains.

Gold futures dropped more than 2%.

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