Oil drifts lower as Strait of Hormuz reopens, focus shifts to demand outlook
Oil prices were in choppy trading on Friday as markets assessed the implications of the US-Iran interim deal and signs that shipping activity in the Strait of Hormuz was recovering.
International comparison Brent crude oil August futures contracts fell 0.45% to $79.49 per barrel. WE West Texas Intermediate Futures It decreased by 0.31% to $76.36 per barrel in July.
Vice President JD Vance said tankers carrying more than 12 million barrels of oil crossed the strait overnight.
“For the second night in a row, the Iranians did not fire on any ships in the Strait of Hormuz,” Vance told reporters. “So far they are honoring their commitment to the fullest.”
Separately, OPEC Secretary-General Haitham Al Ghais told CNBC in an exclusive interview that the organization does not expect oil demand to peak in the near future, while also rejecting International Energy Agency forecasts that point to a coming supply glut.
“[We focus] “We focus on the fundamentals and focus on the real numbers rather than putting a lot of ifs and buts into our forecasts,” he said.
Oil prices will likely trade between $75 and $82 a barrel in the near term, while Brent is about 36% below its peak during the conflict, Axi market analyst Tiago Lacerda said in an email to CNBC.
“Attention is quickly shifting to whether physical reopening is followed by major shipping lines yet to restart transit and insurance rates remaining high, suggesting the market is cautious about the pace of normalization,” Lacerda said. he said.
— CNBC’s Spencer Kimball contributed to the report.
