Oil was in choppy trade on Friday, as markets assess the implications of the interim U.S.-Iran deal and signs that shipping activity through the Strait of Hormuz is recovering.
International benchmark Brent crude futures for August fell 0.45% to $79.49 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures for July declined 0.31% to $76.36 per barrel.
Vice President JD Vance said tankers with more than 12 million barrels crossed the strait overnight.
“The Iranians, for the second night in a row, did not shoot at any ships in the Strait of Hormuz,” Vance told reporters. “So far, they are honoring their end of the commitment.”
Separately, OPEC Secretary General Haitham Al Ghais told CNBC in an exclusive interview that the organization does not expect oil demand to peak in the foreseeable future, while also rejecting forecasts from the International Energy Agency that point to an upcoming supply glut.
“[We focus] on fundamentals and not putting many ifs and buts in our forecasts, but rather focusing on actual numbers,” he said.
Oil prices are likely to trade between $75 and $82 a barrel in the near term, with Brent roughly down 36% from its peak during the conflict, Tiago Lacerda, a market analyst at Axi, told CNBC in an email.
“Attention shifts quickly to whether the physical reopening actually follows major shipping lines have yet to resume transits and insurance rates remain elevated, suggesting the market is cautious about the speed of normalization,” Lacerda said.
— CNBC’s Spencer Kimball contributed to the report.
