Oil prices plunge over 10% as Iran opens Strait of Hormuz

BusinessMust ReadOil prices plunge over 10% as Iran opens Strait of HormuzBy AFP -Apr 17, 2026Oil prices plunged more than 10 percent on Friday after Iran said the Strait of Hormuz would be “completely open” for the rest of the ceasefire with the United States, and stock markets surged. Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on X that “passage for all commercial vessels through Strait of Hormuz is declared completely open for the remaining period of ceasefire”. The strategic waterway, through which one-fifth of the world’s crude oil normally flows, has been disrupted by Iran since the US-Israeli offensive began, sending oil prices to a peak of nearly $120 a barrel and threatening to disrupt the global economy. Both the benchmark international contract Brent and its US equivalent WTI fell below $90 per barrel. “This news is having an immediate impact on markets,” said Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB. Wall Street’s main stock indices jumped at the opening bell, with both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite building on record highs struck the previous evening. “This is the biggest development so far during the ceasefire, and it gives hope that the war will end soon, and supply chains will return to some normality,” Brooks said. It was not clear whether Araghchi was speaking of the 10-day truce agreed by Lebanon and Israel that went into effect at midnight or an earlier two-week truce between Iran and the United States that began on April 8. But Araghchi’s declaration bolstered hopes for further peace talks and a renewal of the the ceasefire, despite US President Donald Trump saying that the US blockade of Iran’s ports remains in force. French President Emmanuel Macron and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer were chairing a meeting of allies Friday to consider sending a multinational force to ensure free-flowing trade in the Strait of Hormuz once the conflict ends. David Morrison at Trade Nation noted that the speed and the magnitude of the rebound of the...