Oil Prices Rise as Iran Sets Conditions for Reopening Strait of Hormuz

Why does the Strait of Hormuz matter so much to oil markets?

The waterway is a chokepoint that carried roughly a fifth of the world's oil — and, by some accounts, liquefied natural gas — before the Middle East conflict Times of India,Globe and Mail,London South East. With it closed, traders keep a risk premium built into futures prices; analyst Tim Waterer of KCM Trade said "the lack of concrete movement, together with lingering questions about the practical details of any agreement, is keeping a risk premium in the price" Yahoo! Finance,GhanaWeb.

What is the Iran-Oman deal, and would it reopen the strait?

Iran says the agreement with Oman would define new shipping lanes through the Strait of Hormuz Reuters,Українська …,Times of India. But Tehran has said those lanes would only be used once the United States meets its separate conditions, meaning the deal alone would not restore traffic CNA,MoneyControl,CNN International.

How much have prices moved since the conflict began?

Al Jazeera reported that after Monday's gains, Brent stood about 16 percent higher than before the start of the US and Israeli campaign against Iran Yahoo! Finance,GhanaWeb. Trump, in his Axios interview, pointed to lower oil prices as limiting the war's impact on American consumers Корреспонде….