Oil prices fall 13% but remain under pressure from news from the Persian Gulf

Yesterday, May Brent crude futures fell 20% to $82/barrel after Trump said the war would soon end and reports of the first tanker under military escort passing through the Strait of Hormuz (which was later denied). However, later information emerged that Iran had begun mining the Strait of Hormuz, so quotes rose again, falling 13% in total to $87.5/barrel (+28.5% in the month).

Crude oil prices also fell on Tuesday after U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright posted on social media that the U.S. Navy was escorting a tanker through the Strait of Hormuz. The market interpreted this as the start of an escort mission the U.S. military planned to conduct to reopen the strait. However, White House press secretary Caroline Leavitt later said Wright's post was erroneous and the U.S. Navy was not escorting the tanker through the strait.

According to CBSNews, US intelligence agencies are warning of Iran's attempts to lay mines in the Strait of Hormuz, using small boats that can carry 2 to 3 mines. Iran's mine stockpile is not known for certain, but it is estimated to be around 2,000-6,000 Iranian, Chinese and Russian-made sea mines.

In the evening, information emerged that the US military had sunk 16 small Iranian minelayers (vessels), and President Trump stated that the US military has a plan to escort ships through the Strait of Hormuz, which has not yet been implemented.

We hope that once the US conducts the first successful tanker convoys through the strait, oil prices will drop even further.