Oil prices fall nearly 4% after U.S. Energy Secretary says Hormuz ship traffic is increasing

• U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said ship traffic through the Strait of Hormuz is “rising very meaningfully.”
• Wright did not provide specific data on how much oil flows through Hormuz have increased.
• President Donald Trump sought to convince the market that a deal with Tehran to reopen Hormuz was “two or three days away.”

Oil prices fell Tuesday after U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said ship traffic through the Strait of Hormuz is “rising very meaningfully.”

U.S. crude oil futures fell about 3.7% to $87.89 per barrel by 10:42 a.m. ET. Brent futures, the international benchmark, lost 3.19% to $91.24.

Wright did not provide a specific data on how much oil flows through Hormuz have increased. He made the remarks in an interview with CNBC’s Brian Sullivan at the Atlantic Council Global Energy Forum.

Wright said oil exports through Hormuz are rising and “will continue to rise.”

The U.S. Navy has quietly coordinated with some ships that are trying to exit the Persian Gulf. More oil may be going through Hormuz than is publicly visible, JPMorgan analysts wrote in a June 4 note.

Some 2 million barrels per day might be getting out on tankers that have switched off their transponders, according to the bank’s estimates.

“Despite the ongoing naval blockade and the steep decline in commercial traffic, surprising volumes of crude and petroleum products still appear to be transiting the Strait,” the JPMorgan analysts said.

Meanwhile, President Donald Trump sought to convince the market Monday that a deal with Tehran to reopen Hormuz was “two or three days away,” despite the outbreak of violence between Israel and Iran this week.

Trump has repeatedly said a deal with Tehran to reopen Hormuz is close, but such an agreement still has not materialized. The fragile ceasefire implemented in April nearly unraveled this week after Iran launched missiles at Israel in retaliation for its strikes in Lebanon.

Israel hit back with strikes on the Islamic Republic. Trump pressured Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to refrain from further attacks.

The violence spiked oil prices briefly Monday, but the volley of strikes appears to have ended without further escalation for now. Iran and Israel said they have ceased fire.

Oil prices have surged about 30% since the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran on Feb. 28. Tehran retaliated by attacking tankers in the Strait of Hormuz and mining the sea lane. Traffic through Hormuz has plunged as a consequence, triggering the biggest oil supply disruption in history.

Trump has sought to pressure Iran into a deal by imposing a naval blockade on its ports and vessels.

Oil industry executives and analysts say crude prices have remained moderate in comparison to the scale of the disruption due to the buffer provided by global stockpiles. But prices will likely spike later this year as those inventories rapidly decline at the same time summer demand hits its peak, they say.

https://www.cnbc.com/2026/06/09/chris-wright-hormuz-oil-iran-trump.html