Brent crude recovered after oil and LNG tankers began moving through the critical Strait of Hormuz, though shipping remains well below normal levels.
Published On 19 Jun 2026
Oil prices recovered as uncertainty deepened over a proposed agreement between the United States and Iran.
Brent crude, the global benchmark, rose 0.65 percent on Friday after earlier slipping as much as 0.9 percent. Traders continued to assess whether the US-Iran memorandum of understanding would help end the conflict and restore reliable shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
August Brent futures were trading at $80.37 per barrel at 06:30 GMT, pushing the benchmark above $80 for the first time since Wednesday. The rebound followed an earlier decline after more commercial vessels began transporting energy supplies through the strait.
The market shift came after Israel launched a series of attacks on Lebanon, killing 16 people and raising concerns that the fighting could undermine the US-Iran agreement.
On Friday, clashes between Israeli forces and Hezbollah fighters in southern Israel killed four Israeli soldiers, according to Israeli media reports.
A planned meeting between US and Iranian officials in Switzerland was cancelled, reportedly because of the attacks. Even so, the Strait of Hormuz appeared to remain open to maritime traffic.
Asian stock markets also experienced sharp swings. South Korea’s Kospi index jumped more than 2.5 percent shortly after the open to reach a record high, before giving up gains and falling 1.8 percent. It later recovered to trade 0.8 percent higher.
Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 rose about 0.6 percent after the market opened, but later slipped 0.08 percent.
Markets in Shanghai, Hong Kong and Taipei were closed for the day.
Three Saudi Arabia-flagged oil supertankers carrying about 6 million barrels of crude left the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday, according to maritime analysis firm Kpler. The vessels resumed broadcasting their locations after spending weeks in the Gulf with their transponders turned off.
The Hong Kong-flagged oil tanker Tong Lin Wan and the France-flagged LNG tanker Mraikh also passed through the waterway on Thursday, according to ship-tracking data.
Despite the renewed movement, traffic through the strait remains only a fraction of pre-war levels, when the channel typically handled 120 to 130 transits a day.
More than 500 vessels are estimated to be waiting to exit the Gulf through the strait, a vital route that carries about one-fifth of the world’s oil supply in peacetime.
Although Iran and the United States have pledged to reopen the waterway, shipping operators remain wary about the safety of vessels and crews after nearly four months of threats and attacks.
The International Maritime Organization said at least 46 attacks have been carried out against ships near the channel since the conflict began in late February, killing 14 seafarers.
The strait is also believed to contain an unknown number of Iranian naval mines, requiring mine-clearing operations that could take weeks to complete.
On Thursday, the International Association of Independent Tanker Owners, known as INTERTANKO, called for clearer guidance on the practical steps needed to ensure safe passage through the waterway.
“Without clarity on these issues, ships will be unsure whether to transit the Strait of Hormuz,” INTERTANKO Managing Director Tim Wilkins said in a statement.
“Some ships will, of course, start to move. That will be natural. But ship owners have adopted a very cautious approach,” Wilkins said.
“The safety and security of seafarers have been uppermost in their minds, and no one wishes to jeopardise that safety-first approach when things appear to be moving in the right direction.”
