Strait of Hormuz Reopened, Crude Oil Prices Plunge Over 10 Percent

New York (ANTARA) - Crude oil futures prices plunged more than 10 percent on Friday (17/4) morning after Iran announced the opening of the Strait of Hormuz to all commercial ships during the ceasefire period in Lebanon. The West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil futures contract for May delivery fell as low as $83 (1 dollar US = Rp17,142) per barrel, down from Thursday’s (16/4) closing price of $94.69 per barrel. Meanwhile, the Brent crude oil futures contract for June delivery hit a low of $87.71 per barrel in the morning session, compared to the closing price of $99.39 per barrel. Iran’s Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi stated on Friday (17/4) via a post on the social media platform X that the shipping route for all commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz is fully open for the remainder of the ceasefire period in Lebanon. US President Donald Trump expressed thanks to Iran for the full opening of the Strait of Hormuz on Friday (17/4). In a follow-up post, he said that the US naval blockade against Iran would remain fully in place until Washington’s transactions with Tehran are “100 percent complete.” The 10-day ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon took effect at midnight between Thursday (16/4) and Friday (17/4) local time (Friday 04.00 WIB). Oil tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a critical shipping route accounting for about 20 percent of global oil flows, had effectively been closed since the outbreak of the Middle East conflict at the end of February.