U.S. President Donald Trump has decided to delay for 5 days military strikes on Iranian power plants and energy facilities, CNBC reported on Monday.

Trump said on his social media platform Truth Social that the United States and Iran had held very productive talks over the past 2 days aimed at a complete resolution of hostilities in the Middle East. He added that he had instructed the Pentagon to defer all military strikes on Iranian power plants and energy infrastructure for 5 days.

Earlier, Trump threatened to "obliterate" power plants if Iran did not reopen the Strait of Hormuz within 48 hours. The strait is a strategic chokepoint through which about 20 percent of the world’s crude oil flows. Oil prices jumped to $112 a barrel after the outbreak of war due to Iran’s de facto blockade, up about 50 percent from before the war.

Iran’s state media flatly rejected this. Citing an anonymous "senior security official" on Telegram, it said no negotiations, direct or indirect, had taken place between Washington and Tehran. The official warned that such psychological warfare would not bring back the Strait of Hormuz or peace in the energy market.

Markets reacted immediately after Trump’s announcement about talks. The Dow Jones index surged 2.3 percent, while the S&P 500 started up 2.2 percent and the Nasdaq opened 2.17 percent higher. Oil prices slumped, with U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures down about 7 percent to the $91 a barrel range, and global benchmark Brent crude sliding to around $104 from a high of $113.

The cryptocurrency market also surged. Bitcoin fell below $68,500 on some exchanges before jumping to $71,500 immediately after Trump’s announcement, rising by about $3,000. As short positions were liquidated, about $270 million in short positions were forcibly liquidated within 1 hour, and total liquidations for the day reached $780 million.