Oil falls below $75 for the first time since March as Hormuz traffic begins to recover

Iran warOil falls below $75 for the first time since March as Hormuz traffic begins to recoverTreasury Secretary Scott Bessent issued a 60-day sanctions waiver for Iranian oil purchases.Listen to this article with a free account00:0000:00Kpler data from the Strait of Hormuz showed 17 crossings on Sunday, down from 35 on Saturday and 19 on Friday. Elke Scholiers / Getty ImagesShareAdd NBC News to GoogleJune 22, 2026, 11:58 AM EDTBy Rob WileU.S. crude prices fell 2.7% Monday to about $74 a gallon, after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced a 60-day waiver of sanctions on the purchase of Iranian oil. Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.It was the first time crude prices had broken below $75 since early March. International Brent crude prices fell 4% to about $77 a gallon, likewise a new low since the Iran conflict began. Both prices remain above their immediate pre-war prices of $62 and $68 a gallon, respectively. In a statement published on social media Monday, Bessent said Iran had “committed to free and open transit in the Strait of Hormuz.” The optimism in markets Monday could still prove premature. as negotiations over the Strait and attack postures in the broader region remain fluid. On Saturday, Iran threatened to re-close the Strait over ongoing Israeli attacks in Lebanon. Meanwhile, ship traffic through the Strait of Hormuz began to recover this weekend — but volumes remain significantly below pre-war levels, according to an international data group.From Friday, June 19 through Sunday, June 21, a daily average of 23 transits was recorded by the tracking group Kpler, which maintains the MarineTraffic website. Those figures represent a significant increase from the single-digit levels seen at the height of the war in April — yet remain below the pre-war average daily figure of 130 vessels. Kpler data showed 17 crossings occurred Sunday, 35 on Saturday and 19 on Friday. It said most ships conti...