This photo taken on March 26, 2026 shows an oil tanker loading crude oil at the port of Yantai city in eastern China’s Shandong province.
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Oil prices rose on Thursday as markets realized Iran still controls access to the Strait of Hormuz despite a two-week ceasefire with the US
us west texas intermediate crude oil May futures rose more than 3% to $97.97 a barrel by 12:16 p.m. ET. International benchmark Brent crude oil futures for June delivery rose more than 1% to $95.94.
U.S. crude rose above $100 in early trading, but rebounded after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would negotiate with Lebanon “as soon as possible.”
The move came a day after the ceasefire caused U.S. oil prices to suffer their biggest single-day drop since 2020. Israel’s attack on Lebanon threatened to collapse the fragile agreement between the United States and Iran.
The CEO of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) said on Thursday that the strait is not open to shipping traffic as Iran has restricted access despite the ceasefire.
In a social media post, the Iranian government clarified that ships must obtain permission from Sultan Ahmed al-Jaber to transit the strait. “It’s not freedom of navigation. It’s coercion,” the ADNOC chief said.
The ceasefire is fragile, with the United States and Iran fighting over the terms of the deal. Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said on Wednesday that the US had violated the agreement.
“Our deep historical mistrust of the United States stems from its repeated violations of its commitments in all its forms. Unfortunately, this pattern is repeating itself again,” Ghalibaf said in a statement posted on social media.
Crude oil prices since the beginning of the year
Ghalibaf said three elements of Iran’s 10-point ceasefire proposal had been violated: continued Israeli attacks in Lebanon, the incursion of Iranian airspace by drones, and the denial of Iran’s right to enrich uranium, he said.
US President Donald Trump said in the US on Tuesday that Iran’s proposal could form the basis for talks. Vice President J.D. Vance responded to the allegations Wednesday during a visit to Hungary.
“Ceasefires are always disrupted,” Vance said, referring to reported drone incidents in Iranian airspace. He said the United States maintains that Iran should not be allowed to enrich uranium and that the agreement does not include a ceasefire covering Lebanon.
