Oil Prices Slide after Iran Declares Strait of Hormuz Open

Global oil prices dropped on Friday after Iran’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Abbas Araghchi, said shipping through the Strait of Hormuz is “completely open,” according to Reuters.

Brent crude dropped more than 10% to $88.97 a barrel after briefly hitting a session low of $86.09, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate fell over 12% to $83.21, touching $80.56 earlier in the day. Both benchmarks slid to their lowest levels since March 10 and posted their steepest daily losses in weeks.

Araghchi said the move comes in light of the ceasefire agreement in Lebanon, signaling that one of the world’s most critical oil chokepoints will remain accessible to commercial traffic, easing fears of supply disruption.

Analysts said the sharp decline reflects a rapid unwinding of geopolitical risk that had driven prices higher in recent weeks, as markets shift focus back to stable supply flows rather than the threat of conflict.…Read more by Mohamed Boutakrint