WTI falls to near $75.00 as shipping conditions improve in Hormuz

• WTI is on track for a 9.5% weekly loss as improving Strait of Hormuz shipping conditions ease supply fears.

• CENTCOM has lifted all maritime restrictions on traffic traveling to and from Iranian ports and coastal waters.

• US Vice President Vance noted 12.5 million barrels of oil safely passed through the waterway overnight without Iranian interference.

West Texas Intermediate (WTI) oil price edges lower during Friday's Asian trading hours, slipping to around $75.10 per barrel and reversing the modest gains recorded in the previous session. The US oil benchmark is now on track to lock in a steep weekly loss of roughly 9.5% as energy investors react to rapidly improving shipping conditions in the Strait of Hormuz. The market downturn comes on the heels of a newly implemented interim peace agreement between the United States and Iran, which has significantly defused geopolitical risk premiums in the energy sector.

The breakthrough diplomatic deal brings an end to a prolonged regional conflict that had previously triggered the largest oil supply disruption on record. Signaling a swift return to normalization, US Central Command (CENTCOM) announced that it has lifted all maritime restrictions on traffic traveling to and from Iranian ports and coastal waters. To ensure safe passage, the Joint Maritime Information Center has advised commercial vessels transiting the vital waterway to adjust their routes closer to Oman’s coastline to minimize any lingering risks from sea mines.

A wave of supply is already hitting the market as tankers carrying previously stranded crude oil began exiting the strategic chokepoint on Thursday, while Kuwait simultaneously announced plans to begin ramping up its domestic production. Consequently, global oil prices have now erased nearly all of the risk-driven gains accumulated since the Middle East conflict first erupted in late February. US Vice President JD Vance reinforced this shifting reality, stating that 12.5 million barrels of oil had successfully passed through the waterway overnight without a single ship being targeted by Iranian forces.

In Tehran, Iran's Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei officially confirmed his approval of the long-awaited plan, though he framed the agreement with defiant rhetoric. Khamenei accused U.S. President Donald Trump of finalizing the accord out of sheer "desperation." He further cautioned that while the interim deal paves the way for direct, in-person negotiations between Washington and Tehran moving forward, the diplomatic talks should not be misinterpreted as an acceptance of the American position.