Oil prices fall as Vance says ships move through Strait of Hormuz

1 hour ago 6

Cris Tolomia

Thu, June 18, 2026 astatine 12:24 PM CDT 2 min read

Oil prices extended their diminution connected Thursday aft Vice President JD Vance told reporters that tankers carrying much than 12 cardinal barrels had crossed the Strait of Hormuz overnight.

By aboriginal afternoon, WTI futures were down astir 2% astatine $75.27 a barrel, with Brent crude not acold down astatine $78.11 — a diminution of 1.8%. Speaking to reporters astatine the White House, Vance said Iran had refrained from firing connected vessels for a 2nd consecutive night. "So acold they are honoring their extremity of the commitment," helium added.

The agreement, signed Wednesday betwixt President Donald Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, requires Iran to licence toll-free transition done the strait for 60 days successful speech for the U.S. lifting its naval blockade. Vance said CENTCOM allowed much than a twelve ships done the blockade. "We're besides honoring our extremity of the aboriginal portion of the agreement," helium said.

Before the conflict, the strait handled astir 14 cardinal barrels of crude and astir 6 cardinal barrels of refined products daily, according to CNBC.

The terms declines travel a broader retreat successful lipid markets that accelerated aft the U.S.-Iran interim statement paved the mode for a imaginable reopening of the strait. The International Energy Agency's June lipid marketplace report, released Wednesday, noted that North Sea Dated crude prices had already collapsed by much than $40 a tube during May done mid-June to astir $82 a barrel, with ICE Brent futures trading astatine astir $81 a tube astatine the clip of penning — inactive astir $20 a tube supra wherever they began the year.

The IEA's June study cautioned that continued drawdowns could propulsion planetary stockpiles to levels not seen historically, with a displacement to surplus not expected until precocious successful the twelvemonth — adjacent arsenic inventories person shed astir 3.8 cardinal barrels per time since warring began.

Read Entire Article