Oil prices fell below $80 a barrel and U.S. stock markets traded at record highs on Tuesday as investors were hopeful that a lull in fighting in the Middle East would hold and that corporate earnings would remain robust. Oil prices fall. The price of Brent crude, the global benchmark for oil, fell more than 5 percent to around $79 a barrel, the lowest price in three weeks. Gas prices fell 1 cent on Tuesday to a national average of $4.09 a gallon, according to the AAA motor club. The post Oil Prices Tumble as Investors Grow Hopeful About a Hormuz Deal appeared first on New York Times.