Oil prices slide as Strait of Hormuz shipments resume

Oil prices fell on Thursday, with Brent sliding to about $73.50 a barrel on Wednesday, as tankers that had been stranded in the Persian Gulf for months began moving back through the Strait of Hormuz. The drop raised the prospect that U.S. gasoline, shipping costs and inflation could ease, but analysts said consumers would not feel the benefit until refiners, carriers and retailers worked lower crude prices through their own pricing cycles. That lag could stretch from weeks to months.

The move marked a sharp turn from the panic that followed the war in Iran. Brent had climbed from around $72 a barrel on Feb. 27 to nearly $120 at its peak, before a preliminary U.S.-Iran agreement in June to reopen the strait and a 60-day ceasefire framework shifted expectations for global supply. U.S. crude briefly dipped below $70 a barrel during the selloff, its weakest level in months, while Brent fell to its lowest point since before the conflict began on Feb. 27.

The Strait of Hormuz normally handles about one-fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas flows, so even a partial reopening has outsized effects on markets. Three Saudi-flagged supertankers carrying about 6 million barrels of crude passed through after the deal was signed, and seven Qatar-linked LNG tankers entered the strait in recent weeks as gas shipping started to resume. Flow through the waterway was running at the fastest pace since the war began, though traffic remained below prewar levels and continued to face security concerns.

Goldman Sachs cut its Brent forecast after the agreement, lowering its fourth-quarter estimate to $80 a barrel from $90 and trimming its 2027 average to $75 from $80. The bank’s revision underscored how quickly traders and analysts began pricing in a faster supply recovery. Even so, shipping executives and industry analysts warned that full normalization could take weeks or months because shipowners, insurers and crews still want confidence that transit is safe, while some stranded vessels and seafarers still need organized evacuation through the strait.