Oil prices fall after Chinese ships cross the Strait of Hormuz
Oil prices fall after Chinese ships cross the Strait of Hormuz
2026-05-14
Shafaq News – Follow-up
Oil prices fell on Thursday after news that around 30 ships had crossed the Strait of Hormuz in the past few hours.
Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency quoted a source as saying that Iran has begun allowing some Chinese ships to pass through its waters.
Meanwhile, the White House said that during a meeting between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, the two leaders agreed that the Strait of Hormuz should remain open to energy supply flows.
By 12:12 GMT, Brent crude futures had fallen from an earlier high of $107.13 a barrel by $1.27 to $104.36 a barrel.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures lost $1.18, or 1.2%, to settle at $99.84.
Crude oil futures fell on Wednesday as investors worried about the possibility of a U.S. interest rate hike because rising fuel prices lead to inflationary pressures.
Brent crude futures fell by more than two dollars a barrel and US crude futures declined by more than a dollar.
The White House said President Xi expressed interest in buying more American oil to reduce China’s dependence on the Strait of Hormuz.
China, which has never been a major buyer of U.S. crude oil, has not imported any quantities from the United States since May 2025 due to a 20% import tariff imposed during the trade war between the two countries.
The Strait of Hormuz, a key energy supply route, has been almost completely closed since the outbreak of the Iran war at the end of February 2016.
At the same time, Iran appears to have strengthened its control over the Strait of Hormuz by striking deals with Iraq and Pakistan to ship oil and liquefied natural gas from the region.
Prior to the Fars News Agency report, a giant Chinese oil tanker carrying two million barrels of Iraqi crude crossed the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, after being stranded in the Gulf for more than two months due to the war.
Data from the London Stock Exchange Group showed on Thursday that a crude oil tanker flying the Panamanian flag and operated by the Japanese refining group Ineos had crossed the strait, marking the second time a Japan-linked oil vessel has transited the waterway.
The International Energy Agency said on Wednesday that global oil supplies will fall short of total demand this year as stockpiles are depleted at an unprecedented rate.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration reported that U.S. crude oil inventories fell by 4.3 million barrels to 452.9 million barrels for the week ending May 8, due to increased exports despite rising distillate inventories, contrary to expectations that they would remain unchanged.
shafaq.com
