On June 17, commercial ships and oil tankers continue to wait in the Gulf of Oman as they prepare to transit the Strait of Hormuz, one of the most important strategic waterways for global trade flows.
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Oil prices fell by about 4% on Wednesday as tankers continued to navigate the Strait of Hormuz, raising hopes that the worst of Middle East supply disruptions is over.
West Texas Intermediate Futures It hit a session low of $69.63 per barrel and closed at $70.34 per barrel. This is the first time since March 2 that the contract value has fallen below $70.
brent crude oil Futures, an international benchmark, fell 4.3% to settle at $73.74 a barrel, its lowest level since before the US and Israel began their war against Iran on February 28.
U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday criticized oil companies for not lowering gasoline prices to match the recent drop in oil prices.
In a post on Truth Social, President Trump said, “Big oil companies are not lowering prices fast enough to match the precipitous drop in oil prices. Prices are falling like a rock!”
“In other words, customers are being ‘ripped off’. I have directed the Department of Justice to begin an investigation immediately. Gas prices should start coming down much sooner than I see them!” he added.
CNBC has reached out to the U.S. Department of Justice for comment and is awaiting a response.
Karen Young, a senior researcher at Columbia University’s Center on Global Energy Policy, described the post as “political theater” and said, “That’s not how gas prices actually work in the United States.”
“State and local taxes apply to the price of gas at gas stations in the United States,” Young told CNBC’s “Access Middle East.”
“It really depends on the refiners, and it takes a few weeks for oil prices to fall, then refinery prices to fall, and then for consumers to really react.”
Investors were also encouraged by signs that maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz may begin to return to normal.
The International Maritime Organization says more than 11,000 seafarers stranded in the Persian Gulf will begin leaving the country through the Strait of Hormuz once it is safe to do so.
“We have ensured the necessary security guarantees and thoroughly verified the conditions for safe navigation to support these operations,” IMO Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez said in a statement.
Dominguez added that the plan will be implemented “in close cooperation with Iran, Oman, all other coastal states in the region, the United States, and the maritime industry.”
Aditi Rasquinha, CEO of DHL Global Forwarding Greater China, said on CNBC’s “Squawk Box Asia” that supply chain pressures are increasing due to longer transit times for ships stuck in the Strait of Hormuz and disruptions to air cargo capacity.
“With the strait opening, many things could be alleviated,” Lasquinha said, but noted that it will take time for supply chains to normalize.
