Oil Prices Erase Wartime Gains as Tankers Leave Strait of Hormuz

Oil prices erased wartime gains on Thursday as investors bet global crude supplies would improve after tankers that had been stranded in the Persian Gulf for months began leaving the Strait of Hormuz.

International benchmark Brent crude futures for August fell 1.3% to $72.75 per barrel, hovering at levels last seen before the Middle East war broke out in late February. U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures for August dropped 1.1% to $69.60.

More than 20 oil tankers carrying about 35 million barrels of crude have passed through the Strait of Hormuz since the U.S. and Iran reached an agreement to reopen the key shipping route, according to trade-tracking firm Kpler.

The non-Iranian vessels had been stranded in the Persian Gulf for more than three months after Tehran effectively shut the waterway early in the conflict. Most are expected to arrive at destinations in Asia by early August.

Citi said the worst may be over for commodities curve-carry strategies, which had been hit during the U.S.-Iran war as oil's front-end price spike punished trades that short near-term contracts and buy further-dated ones.

The bank said a major de-escalation is now its base case and expects Brent to fall to $60 to $65 a barrel over the next six to 12 months as Strait of Hormuz flows normalize, adding that any temporary summer rally in oil should be "faded."

However, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy on Thursday warned that safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz would only be permitted via routes designated by Tehran, highlighting that risks to the key shipping lane remain. The IRGC also added that vessels violating transit instructions would "face action."