S\u00e3o Paulo \u2013 The price of a barrel of oil fell to its lowest levels in more than a month this Friday (17) after Iran announced that the Strait of Hormuz would be reopened due to a ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon. Since February 28, Israel and the United States had been attacking the Persian country, but Lebanon also became a target. In retaliation, Iran attacked Gulf Arab nations such as the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia, and closed navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, through which approximately 20% of the world\u2019s oil and liquefied natural gas supply passes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On Friday (17) morning, the price of Brent crude, the global benchmark, was down 8.3% and trading at $91 per barrel. WTI crude, the U.S. benchmark, fell 9.1% to $86.02 per barrel. The market reacted positively to the announcements as well as to statements by U.S. President Donald Trump that the war in Iran could end soon and that new rounds of negotiations might take place over the weekend. Initially, the ceasefire is set to last ten days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Major global shipowners\u2014companies that own vessels\u2014expressed both optimism and caution. According to AFP, the sector\u2019s concern lies in maintaining the ceasefire and determining safe routes for ships, as the Strait of Hormuz is filled with naval mines. “One thousand ships cannot just go now to the entrance of the strait, that will be chaos. They (the Iranians) need to give clear orders”, said Niels Haupt, spokesperson for the German shipping company Hapag-Lloyd. “We would be ready to go very soon if some of these open questions can be solved within the weekend”, he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to information from Bloomberg reported by AFP, there were 770 commodity vessels in the Gulf on Thursday, 360 of which were transporting oil and gas. Also speaking to AFP, Thomas Kazakos, Secretary-General of the International Chamber of Shipping, said the announcement is a positive step, though still surrounded by uncertainties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n