U.S. oil futures were trading around $70 a barrel Wednesday after briefly falling below $70 for the first time since the start of the war.
Signs of increased transits through the Strait of Hormuz coupled with a social media post from President Donald Trump saying that Iran had informed the U.S. that no tolls or fees were being charged along the waterway, were helping bring oil prices down.
Brent crude futures, the international standard, were down 3.9% at $73.81 a barrel. West Texas Intermediate futures were falling 4.3% to $70.08 a barrel. Brent crude oil futures settled at their lowest price since before the Iran war began on Tuesday.
More ships are now passing through the Strait of Hormuz, where about 20% of the world's daily oil traffic normally transits. Between June 12 -- 14, total crossings through the strait came to 32. One week later, from June 19 -- 21, crossings rose to 93, according to maritime intelligence firm Kpler.
Overnight Trump complained that big oil companies weren't lowering prices at the gasoline pump even though they were paying much less for oil. "Customers are being 'gouged,'" he wrote, adding that he had instructed the Justice Department to look into the issue.
The average gasoline price in the U.S. has fallen to $3.9280 a gallon, according to AAA. That's down from $4.06 just after the deal between the U.S. and Iran was announced, but still nearly a dollar more than before the conflict began.
Strategists at Macquarie lowered their estimate for average WTI prices this year to $77 a barrel from $89 a barrel previously.
"Our biggest call...on the assumption of an unrestricted Hormuz, is that the oil market normalizes far quicker than consensus expects," Macquarie strategist Peter Taylor wrote in a research note. "The diversions and new trade routes established during the conflict will likely leave the supply chain even more flexible and diversified than before."
Write to Adam Clark at adam.clark@barrons.com and Anita Hamilton at anita.hamilton@barrons.com
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
June 24, 2026 11:02 ET (15:02 GMT)
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