Oil prices fall 5% to 3-month low on hopes Strait of Hormuz will open By Scott DiSavino June 16, 2026 4 min read CL=F By Scott DiSavino NEW YORK, June 16 ( ) - Oil prices fell about 5% for a second day in a row to a three-month low on Tuesday as details emerged of an interim deal to end the war in the Middle East and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, including an agreement to allow Iran to sell oil. Brent crude futures fell $4.21, or 5.1%, to settle at $78.96 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell $4.70, or 5.8%, to settle at $76.05.
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What caused oil prices to drop significantly? Those were the lowest closes for Brent since March 2 and for WTI since March 4. The U.S.-Iran war started on February 28.
On February 27, Brent closed at $72.48 a barrel and WTI closed at $67.02. "Crude oil is sliding fast on the assumption the Strait of Hormuz will open soon," Bob Yawger, director of energy futures at Mizuho, said in a note. Before the war, about 20% of global oil supplies passed through the strait.
Details of the interim deal to end the war began to emerge on Tuesday with U.S. President Donald Trump saying it will rule out a nuclear weapon for Tehran and a U.S. official saying it allows Iran to sell oil upon signing. The deal would extend a tenuous ceasefire announced in April by another 60 days and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran has effectively blocked since the U.S. and Israel first attacked Iran.
Still, doubts swirled around the deal with experts warning that shipping and energy exports could take weeks to recover. In Lebanon, the Iran-backed Hezbollah group said it believes Iran will not sign a final nuclear deal unless Israel withdraws from Lebanon. "For now, a major vote of confidence is being applied to the success of this plan with limited regard to thorny issues such as financial compensation, sanctions and especially a satisfactory nuclear deal that was largely the reason behind the war," analysts at energy advisory firm Ritterbusch and Associates said in a note.
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