Updated
Updated · CNBC · Jul 31
Brent Falls 1.4% Below $88 as Hormuz Traffic Recovers to 30%-35%
Updated
Updated · CNBC · Jul 31

Brent Falls 1.4% Below $88 as Hormuz Traffic Recovers to 30%-35%

3 articles · Updated · CNBC · Jul 31

Summary

  • $87.78 Brent and $82.27 WTI settled lower Friday, extending declines as supply fears eased after U.S.-Iran hostilities had briefly driven Brent above $93 earlier this week.
  • 30%-35% of pre-war Strait of Hormuz traffic has returned, Commonwealth Bank of Australia said, and a recovery to 50%-60% of normal flows could be enough to restore global oversupply conditions.
  • Trump also urged Congress to add tariffs on Iran to a bipartisan sanctions bill targeting Tehran and Russia, though the proposal may have limited direct trade impact.
  • $1.4 million in U.S. imports from Iran in 2025 underscores that limit; art, collectors' pieces and antiques accounted for 55% of the total.

Insights

How will global energy flows transform if proposed tariffs on major importers of Russian and Iranian oil trigger massive trade retaliation?
With key infrastructure facing years of repairs, is the market's relief over a partial Strait of Hormuz reopening dangerously premature?
Could soaring war-risk insurance premiums permanently cripple maritime trade even if physical threats in the Strait of Hormuz completely disappear?