NEW YORK (AP) — Oil prices dropped more than 10% Friday, and U.S. stocks raced toward another record after Iran said the Strait of Hormuz is open again for commercial tankers carrying oil from the Persian Gulf to customers worldwide.
The S&P 500 leaped 1.3% as Wall Street rallied to the finish of a third straight week of big gains, its longest streak since Halloween. A freer flow of oil would take pressure off prices not only for gasoline but also for groceries and all kinds of other products that get moved by vehicles. It could even ultimately help people pay less on credit-card interest or mortgage bills.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average briefly climbed nearly 1,070 points and was up 978 points, or 2%, as of 11:45 a.m. Eastern time, while the Nasdaq composite was 1.6% higher
The U.S. stock market has jumped more than 12% since hitting a bottom in late March on hopes the United States and Iran can avoid a worst-case scenario for the global economy despite their war. Friday’s reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, which may only be temporary, is the clearest signal yet for optimism, and President Donald Trump said late Thursday that the war “should be ending pretty soon.”
The price for a barrel of benchmark U.S. crude plunged immediately after Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, posted on X that the passage for all commercial vessels through the strait “is declared completely open” as a ceasefire appears to be holding in Lebanon. He said it would stay open for the remaining period of the ceasefire, and U.S. oil tumbled 10.8% to $81.38 per barrel.
