Gasoline futures for delivery at the New York Harbor fell below $2.95 per gallon on Friday, their lowest level in more than a month, after Iran announced that tankers are once again free to transit the Strait of Hormuz. Iranian officials said the Persian Gulf chokepoint will be reopened to all commercial vessels for the first time since the conflict began, fueling expectations that energy supplies from this key region could soon return to normal. However, US President Trump stated that Iranian vessels will remain under blockade.
The move is expected to ease buying pressure on alternative crude suppliers, particularly from Asian refineries heavily reliant on Middle Eastern shipments. Those refineries were among the hardest hit early in the conflict, a disruption that helped push US retail gasoline prices above $4 per gallon. Even so, continued attacks on Russian refining infrastructure have limited the extent of the decline in gasoline futures.
