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Hormuz shipping halts as U.S.-Iran ceasefire nears expiry
Strait of Hormuz shipping plunged to five vessels Saturday, down from 31 a week earlier, as the U.S.-Iran ceasefire expires Monday with no negotiations underway.
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Shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz ground to a near standstill over the weekend as the 60-day ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran was set to expire Monday with no deal in sight. Only five cargo ships passed through the critical oil passage on Saturday, according to Kpler data cited by Reuters. No ships were registered to cross on Sunday. The previous weekend saw 31 vessels.
Traffic had already hit a three-month low last week, with a five-day average of 13 vessel transits on Tuesday, the lowest since May 12, a CNBC analysis of Kpler data found. Overall, shipping is down 90% since before the conflict began on February 28. The strait carries about a fifth of the world’s oil, normally averaging around 130 transits a day.
Oil prices barely budged Monday. Brent crude futures slipped 0.15% to $88.45 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate fell 0.74% to $81.79. Traders said the muted reaction reflected expectations that the ceasefire would expire without a new agreement, a scenario already priced in over recent weeks.