LONDON, June 23, 2026, 10:15 BST
Oil slid for a second day on Tuesday. Traders pointed to a short-term U.S. waiver on Iranian oil and resumed tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz as cooling supply concerns.
Brent crude futures slipped 44 cents, or 0.6%, to $77.46 a barrel in active European trading at 9:13 a.m. BST. U.S. West Texas Intermediate dropped 30 cents, or 0.4%, to $73.56.
U.S. Treasury on Monday gave approval via Iran General License X for the production, delivery and sale of Iranian crude, petrochemicals and petroleum products through August 21. The waiver opens Iranian barrels to a broader set of buyers.
Brent dropped 3.31% to close at $77.90 on Monday, giving up early gains after hitting $82.30. The August WTI contract ended down $1.99 at $73.86.
U.S. and Iranian officials set a 60-day window for working toward a permanent deal after meeting in Switzerland. They also launched a communications channel focused on securing commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
Early shipping numbers pointed to a pickup in traffic. Two supertankers that had been stuck, carrying about 2 million barrels of crude each, cleared the strait on Tuesday. Seven empty LNG carriers tied to Qatar have come into the Gulf in recent weeks.
Hormuz moved roughly 20% of global oil and LNG supplies until the conflict shut down traffic for over three months. If traffic stays open, stuck cargoes would get back to the market and shipping and insurance costs would fall.
Recovery is still shaky. “Ship owners and operators will require assurances that the threats posed by mines have been fully eliminated,” PVM Oil Associates analyst Tamas Varga said. He also said damaged ports, debris and congestion could hold back a full return. Reuters
Diplomacy is still shaky. Iran said nuclear issues didn’t come up in the first round of talks. The U.S. said Tehran agreed to let inspectors back in. President Donald Trump warned military action might start again if Iran disrupts shipping.
U.S. inventory data is due next. Reuters says analysts expect declines in crude, gasoline and distillate stocks from last week. The Strategic Petroleum Reserve now sits at 331.2 million barrels, the lowest since June 1983.
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