Crude oil prices fell by about 2% to roughly $67 per barrel on Thursday, marking a third consecutive session of losses and returning to pre-war levels as maritime shipments through the Strait of Hormuz rebounded sharply. The United Arab Emirates ramped exports back above 3.9 million barrels per day, lifting total flows through Hormuz to more than 10 million barrels daily. This jump in supply, combined with ongoing releases from emergency reserves and additional, non-routine Saudi sales to Asian buyers, has tipped the market into surplus.
At the same time, planned peace talks in Qatar have been postponed due to funeral ceremonies for Iran’s former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, which begin on July 4. Geopolitical tensions remain elevated: Tehran is pressing its demand for maritime control over the strait, while US President Donald Trump has again vowed to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons. In the United States, data showed total domestic crude inventories declining for a twelfth straight week, bringing stockpiles down to their lowest level since March 2025.
