Oil is flowing through the Strait of Hormuz again. After months of near-total shutdown triggered by the 2026 Iran war, crude exports from the Persian Gulf have clawed back to roughly three-quarters of their prewar volume.
The catalyst: a preliminary peace agreement signed in mid-June 2026 between President Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian. That memorandum cracked open the world’s most important oil chokepoint, which had been sealed shut since March 4, 2026, when escalating military strikes forced a full closure.
The numbers behind the recovery
As of June 12, 2026, flows through the strait had reached an estimated 5.1 million barrels per day. That’s a dramatic jump from the 2.9 million barrels per day recorded in May 2026, when tanker traffic was still operating under severe security constraints. That 5.1 million figure still represents only about 25% of prewar throughput according to analyst estimates.
Brent crude, which had surged past $120 per barrel during the peak of the conflict, has since pulled back. Crude futures have declined by roughly 10% as markets price in the diplomatic thaw. On the consumer side, US gas prices have dipped below $4 per gallon.
