Strait of Hormuz’s Hollow Recovery Is Dragging Oil Prices to Third Straight Weekly Loss

(SeaPRwire) –

By: Douglas Vance

The latest three-week oil price slide isn’t a random market swing. It’s a clear warning that the Strait of Hormuz’s supposed recovery is built on thin air. Brent crude fell to ~$74 per barrel, with WTI trading near $70.77, both on track for 7% weekly losses. The recent Iranian attack on a Singapore-flagged cargo ship shattered the fragile calm of the tentative US-Iran peace deal.

Let’s break down the shipping volumes that tell the real story. Tanker traffic through Hormuz hit its highest level since the Iran conflict began, but almost all of it is stranded outbound vessels finally leaving, not new inbound ships loading fresh crude. Pre-conflict, 125 ships passed through the strait daily; today’s volumes are still a tiny fraction of that. The International Maritime Organization suspended its evacuation plan after the attack, adding fresh doubt to the deal’s durability. Even Venezuela’s recent earthquakes, which disrupted oil production via power outages, couldn’t slow the price drop.

The market’s focus remains fixed on the Hormuz situation and US-Iran negotiations. Any further Iranian attack on commercial shipping could trigger direct US military response, pushing crude back above $120 in hours. Until there’s a clear, lasting resolution to the regional tensions, the downward price trend looks set to continue.

Author bio: Douglas Vance, a maritime defense scholar and naval intelligence briefing coordinator focused on global strategic supply lines.