International oil prices fall, oil shipment volume in Strait of Hormuz rebounds

International oil prices fell last Friday, and oil shipments in the Strait of Hormuz were also reported to have picked up.

The U.S. Secretary of Energy pointed out that daily throughput once exceeded 20 million barrels, higher than the level before the U.S.-Iran conflict. However, he emphasized that the current price pressure comes more from insufficient refining capacity. According to outside interpretation, Wright's statement shows that the problem of insufficient refining capacity cannot be solved by reopening the Strait of Hormuz alone.

Fox News reported that U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said that with the assistance of the U.S. military, an average of about 13 million barrels of oil are passing through the Strait of Hormuz per day, and one day in the past week exceeded 20 million barrels, which is higher than the single-day volume before the conflict. However, the single-day peak does not mean that transportation has fully recovered; compared with the daily scale of about 20 million barrels before the conflict, the current average transportation volume has recovered about 65%.

Wright pointed out that the US military is helping oil, natural gas and fertilizer pass through the strait. He believes that the current pressure on energy prices comes more from insufficient refining capacity than from crude oil transportation volume. Even if more crude oil is shipped successfully, gasoline and diesel prices may not immediately follow.

International oil prices have fallen back recently. On Friday (25th), Brent crude oil futures fell 2.1% to close at US$104.32 per barrel; West Texas Intermediate crude oil (WTI) futures fell by 2.3% to close at US$92.41 per barrel. On the one hand, the market is concerned that the United States and Iran may gradually end the conflict through negotiations. On the other hand, the market is still worried about attacks on supplies in the Middle East and the United States may restrict diesel exports.