Singapore, June 24, 2026 – Oil prices fell on Wednesday, extending this week’s losses to trade near four-month lows on signs that more stranded oil tankers are set to move out of the Strait of Hormuz.
Brent crude futures fell 72 cents, or 0.9%, to $76.36 a barrel by 0645 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate slipped by 61 cents, or 0.8%, to $72.60.
Both benchmarks settled around 1% down on Tuesday, touching their lowest since early March.
“Positive signals from the Persian Gulf are fuelling optimism about oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz. Vessel crossings increased in recent days, although they remain well below pre-war levels,” ING commodity strategists said in a note on Wednesday.
Prices have also come under pressure this week from the 60-day sanctions waiver Washington granted Tehran after initial peace talks, allowing Iran to sell oil, and from an easing of hostilities in Lebanon.
“Crude oil prices were weighed down by hopes of easing U.S.-Iran tensions and a recovery in oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz,” said Tomomichi Akuta, senior economist at Mitsubishi UFJ Research and Consulting.
“Further progress in nuclear negotiations could push prices back to pre-war levels,” he added.
On Tuesday, Oman and Iran agreed to press on with discussions about administration of navigation in the strait. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that any attempt by Iran to levy transit fees would violate international law.
Uncertainty remains over the durability of the accord, however. U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that Iran had agreed to nuclear inspections into “infinity”, though Tehran said it had made no such concession.
Investors are also watching how quickly Middle Eastern producers can restore exports and whether more ships will enter the region.
An Iranian military source told Fars news agency that a limited number of vessels are being allowed to pass through the strait each day under coordination with Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Navy.
Ship-tracking data showed that three stranded supertankers passed through the strait on Tuesday. The U.N. shipping agency said that an evacuation plan is under way to enable hundreds of stranded ships to sail through the strait after the U.S.-Iran ceasefire deal.
Meanwhile, crude stocks fell by 765,000 barrels in the week to June 19, market sources said, citing data from the American Petroleum Institute. Nine analysts polled by Reuters estimated, on average, that crude inventories fell by about 4.5 million barrels in the past week. (Reuters)
