WTI Oil Dips Below $70 as Hormuz Tankers Resume Transit

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WTI hit $69.63 intraday on June 24—first sub-$70 since March—as Brent slid to $73.50, its lowest since before the U.S.–Iran war.
Three tankers carrying 5 million barrels began exiting the Strait of Hormuz; more than 11,000 stranded seafarers were also cleared to depart.
President Trump directed the DOJ to probe oil-company "gouging" after retail gasoline prices failed to fall in step with crude benchmarks.

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WTI crude fell below $70 for the first time since March as Hormuz tankers resumed transit on June 24, extending a 40% retreat from wartime highs amid easing U.S.–Iran tensions.

Lead

West Texas Intermediate crude briefly fell to $69.63 per barrel on Wednesday, June 24, before settling at $70.34—its lowest close since early March and the first time the front-month contract had traded sub-$70 since the opening weeks of the U.S.–Iran conflict. Brent crude dropped 4.71% to $73.50, its lowest since before hostilities began. The selloff was triggered by tanker traffic resuming through the Strait of Hormuz and President Donald Trump's assurances that no transit fees would be imposed on vessels using the waterway.

What Happened

Three tankers carrying a combined 5 million barrels of crude began their exit from the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, according to ship-tracking data from Kpler and LSEG. The movement marks a significant milestone in the reopening of one of the world's most critical maritime chokepoints. The International Maritime Organization confirmed that more than 11,000 seafarers stranded in the Persian Gulf had secured safety guarantees and were cleared to depart.

At its session low, WTI had shed approximately 4.67% from Tuesday's close. Brent extended a streak of declines that has seen the benchmark tumble nearly 40% from its wartime peak, erasing months of war-risk premium built into global oil prices. The selloff in energy markets was broad, with refined products tracking crude benchmarks lower across the session.

Geopolitical Backdrop

The 2026 Strait of Hormuz crisis began when U.S. and Israeli forces struck Iranian targets, prompting Tehran to impose a de facto blockade on the waterway through which roughly 25% of the world's seaborne oil trade and approximately 20% of global liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplies transit. At the height of the crisis, tanker traffic through the strait fell by approximately 70%, with more than 150 vessels anchoring outside to avoid risk.

After weeks of diplomatic maneuvering, Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian signed a memorandum of understanding on June 17 to end the conflict, with Hormuz reopening as a core condition. The deal briefly unraveled on June 20 when Iran announced a fresh closure of the strait, citing Israeli actions it deemed a violation of the agreement. Tensions eased in subsequent days, enabling the first meaningful commercial transits to resume by June 24.

Market Reaction and Supply Context

Oil prices have now fallen approximately 20% from their 2026 peak on growing confidence that the supply disruption—which throttled exports from Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Kuwait, and the UAE, all of whose export routes pass through or near Hormuz—is abating. A June 22 U.S. decision to authorize Iranian crude sales added further downside pressure to benchmarks. OPEC+ has limited room to cushion any sudden price correction. The group approved modest output increases of roughly 188,000 barrels per day beginning in June, a largely symbolic step taken while Gulf producers faced their own export bottlenecks. Saudi Arabia and the UAE hold meaningful spare capacity, but physical flows through Hormuz are expected to take several weeks, and potentially months, to fully normalize even under cooperative diplomatic conditions.

At the retail level, U.S. gasoline prices have declined for six consecutive weeks. The national average for regular-grade fuel fell to $3.85 per gallon as of Monday—a drop of $0.141 in a single week, according to GasBuddy—but the retail decline lags the sharper moves in crude futures.

Trump's Statements

Trump reinforced positive market sentiment on June 24 by stating that Iran had not sought or charged any transit fees, insurance premiums, or other surcharges for vessels passing through the Strait of Hormuz, dismissing earlier concerns that Tehran might monetize the waterway's strategic position.

Separately, Trump posted on Truth Social that oil companies were not lowering gasoline prices proportionately to falling crude costs, accusing them of "gouging" consumers and directing the Justice Department to "immediately" investigate. The statement did not name specific companies or cite legal thresholds. Energy economists characterized the retail price lag as consistent with normal supply-chain mechanics—the time required for higher-cost crude purchased weeks earlier to work through refinery and distribution systems—rather than evidence of anticompetitive behavior.

Outlook

Oil's trajectory from here depends on three interacting variables: the durability of the U.S.–Iran peace framework, the pace at which Hormuz tanker traffic normalizes, and OPEC+'s response to prices moving toward levels that strain the fiscal budgets of several member states. With Brent now below $75 and WTI sub-$70, the margin for further demand-side disappointment is narrowing.

Physical supply recovery will lag the diplomatic timeline. Shipping operators, insurers, and charterers are likely to require weeks of demonstrated safe transit before fully recommitting vessels to Gulf routes. Even then, the backlog of stranded cargoes will need to be absorbed before production quotas and export volumes recalibrate. For consumers, further relief at the pump is probable but will arrive gradually.

Mentioned tickers: USO, BNO, XOM, CVX, COP, SLB, OXY, MPC, VLO

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Sources:

[U.S. crude oil briefly dips below $70 as tankers transit Strait of Hormuz](https://www.cnbc.com/2026/06/24/oil-prices-wti-brent-crude-trump-doj-gasoline-prices-strait-of-hormuz.html)
[WTI Crude Falls Below $70 Mark; Trump Says Strait of Hormuz Won't Charge Fees](https://www.tradingkey.com/analysis/commodities/oil/261988246-crude-oil-price-wti-70-brent-75-trump-hormuz-tradingkey)
[Oil falls as stranded tankers exit Hormuz, puncturing crude's fear trade](https://invezz.com/news/2026/06/24/oil-falls-as-stranded-tankers-exit-hormuz-puncturing-crudes-fear-trade/)
[Trump accuses oil companies of gas price 'gouging,' calls for DOJ probe](https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/trump-gas-price-gouging-oil-iran-war-hormuz-doj-rcna351522)
[Oil prices fall, stocks rally as US, Iran sign framework to end war](https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2026/6/18/oil-prices-fall-stocks-rally-as-us-iran-sign-framework-to-end-war)
[Commercial Traffic Through Hormuz Strait Surges After US-Iran Deal](https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-war-us-hormuz-oil-blockade-gulf-israel/33640284.html)
[2026 Strait of Hormuz crisis – Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_Strait_of_Hormuz_crisis)
[OPEC+ countries agree modest rise in production](https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2026/05/03/opec-oil-russia-uae-hormuz-iran/58ebc2fe-470b-11f1-a119-857cd2bf4fd4_story.html) }}