Oil prices have fallen to $70–$73 a barrel from wartime peaks near $120 after a US-Iran memorandum of understanding reopened the Strait of Hormuz to toll-free shipping. Daily oil volumes and vessel traffic through the chokepoint are recovering but remain below pre-conflict levels, and renewed diplomatic friction shows the standoff is not fully resolved.
Oil prices have fallen to $70 to $73 a barrel from wartime peaks near $120 after a US-Iran memorandum of understanding reopened the Strait of Hormuz to toll-free shipping. Vice President JD Vance confirmed that Iran agreed not to impose tolls on oil transiting the strait, a commitment formalized around mid-June 2026. Roughly a fifth of the world's seaborne oil supply moves through the corridor between Iran and Oman, so disruptions there ripple through crude oil markets fast.
What the deal changed
Under the memorandum, the United States agreed to lift its naval blockade on Iranian ports and temporarily waive certain oil sanctions, while Iran committed to keeping the strait open and toll-free. As a result, daily oil volumes through the waterway climbed to between 12.5 million and 16 million barrels in the period after the agreement, a recovery from wartime lows that still falls short of the roughly 20 million barrels per day that moved through before the conflict. Vessel traffic followed a similar pattern: total ship passages ran at around 240 over one recent week, below the pre-war standard of 130 to 150 daily crossings, with oil tankers resuming operations faster than other vessel types.
Prices ease from wartime highs
WTI and Brent crude both fell to approximately $70 to $73 per barrel by late June 2026, down roughly 40% from wartime peaks near $120.
US gasoline prices fell back below $4 per gallon for the first time since the conflict escalated. Still, the geopolitical risk has not disappeared: reports of mines in the region remain unresolved, and war-risk insurance premiums that spiked during the conflict may take longer to normalize than oil prices themselves. The memorandum is a framework, not a permanent treaty, and long-term transit protocols remain unsettled.
Talks continue as Iran presses new demands
The situation remains unsettled. Oman says negotiations over shipping arrangements in the strait are advancing in a "positive and constructive" manner, according to Oman's government, even as recent attacks on merchant vessels near the strait have kept security concerns elevated. Separately, Iran's National Security Council Secretary demanded that the United States lift its naval blockade and withdraw military forces from the country's vicinity, alongside calls to lift sanctions, pay reparations and release Iranian assets.
Sources: Crypto Briefing, Crypto Briefing, Crypto Briefing
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