FINWIRES · TerminalLIVE
FINWIRES

Oil Hits Four-Month Low as Strait of Hormuz Shipping Resumes

By

Oil traded at a four-month low early Friday as ships resumed moving through the Strait of Hormuz, easing concerns over supply disruptions in the Persian Gulf following the outbreak of the Iran conflict on Feb. 28.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil for August delivery was last seen down 2.4% at US$70.22 per barrel, the lowest since Feb. 27, while August Brent crude fell 2.7% to US$73.20 per barrel.

The decline came after shipping through the Strait of Hormuz resumed, a day after reports that Iran had attacked a vessel transiting the waterway in Omani waters. The incident prompted the International Maritime Organization to suspend an evacuation plan for ships stranded in the Persian Gulf.

However ships are again moving through the Strait, with hormuzstraitmonitor.com reporting 62 ships have moved out of the Gulf in the past day, easing the largest ever energy supply shock that began when Iran blocked the international waterway at the start of the war.

"Oil resumed its decline after tanker transits through the Strait of Hormuz accelerated, following a brief rebound on Thursday when a container ship was struck by an unknown projectile off the coast of Oman. The mini tsunami of released barrels is weighing on the front end of the futures curve," Saxo Bank noted.

Related Articles

Sectors

Sector Update: Energy Stocks Higher Late Afternoon

Energy stocks advanced late Thursday afternoon, with the NYSE Energy Sector Index rising 0.6% and the State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLE) adding 0.8%.The Philadelphia Oil Service Sector Index gained 2.5%, and the Dow Jones US Utilities Index increased 0.7%.In sector news, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps attacked a Singapore-flagged ship on Thursday in the Strait of Hormuz, damaging the vessel's bridge while causing no casualties, the Wall Street Journal reported.West Texas Intermediate crude oil rose 2.5% to $72.12 a barrel, and global benchmark Brent added 2.4% to $75.48 a barrel.US natural gas stocks rose by 76 billion cubic feet in the week ended June 19, larger than the 69 billion cubic feet increase expected in a Bloomberg survey and following an increase of 73 billion cubic feet in the previous week. Henry Hub natural gas futures gained 2.1% to $3.29 per 1 million BTU.In corporate news, Chevron (CVX) said its Venezuelan business remains operational and that all of its workers are accounted for after back-to-back earthquakes in the country, Bloomberg reported, citing a company statement. Chevron shares were up 0.3%.Prairie Operating (PROP) said Thursday that it promoted Gregory Patton to chief executive and board member, and named Michael Shelly as chief financial officer. Its shares jumped 8%.TotalEnergies (TTE) must spell out the climate risks tied to emissions from its oil and gas products and detail how it plans to address them, the Paris Judicial Court ruled Thursday, Reuters reported, citing a summary of the decision. TotalEnergies shares eased 0.1%.Eco Wave Power Global (WAVE) shares climbed 6.1% after the company priced an offering of 400,000 American depositary shares to an institutional investor at $10 apiece for gross proceeds of $4 million.

$CVX$PROP$TTE$WAVE
Sectors

Sector Update: Financial Stocks Mixed Late Afternoon

Financial stocks were mixed in late Thursday afternoon trading, with the NYSE Financial Index rising 0.2% and the State Street Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLF) easing 0.2%.The Philadelphia Housing Index added 1.1%, and the State Street Real Estate Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLRE) rose 0.2%.Bitcoin (BTC-USD) fell 3% to $59,162, and the yield for 10-year US Treasuries decreased 1 basis point to 4.392%.In economic news, annual inflation accelerated to 4.1% in May, the fastest print since April 2023, matching consensus, based on the personal consumption expenditures, or PCE, price index data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis. It follows a 3.8% gain in April. Core PCE inflation, which strips out food and energy, accelerated to 3.4% from a year ago, as expected, from 3.3% in April. That's the highest reading since October 2023.US real gross domestic product increased at a 2.1% annualized rate in the first quarter, up from 1.6% growth reported in the second estimate, according to latest official data Thursday.In corporate news, JPMorgan Chase (JPM) said Thursday Doug Petno and Troy Rohrbaugh, co-chief executives of JPMorgan's commercial and investment bank, have been named co-presidents of the firm, effective immediately. Shares rose 0.6%.Blue Owl Capital (OWL) is in advanced talks to acquire a minority stake of 5% to 10% in the National Basketball Association's Cleveland Cavaliers, Bloomberg reported. Shares were up 0.1%.CME (CME) is planning to introduce wind derivatives linked to markets in the US, Europe and Australia as renewable energy generation expands, Bloomberg reported. Shares fell 2.5%.Blackstone (BX) and Bain Capital are among the firms that have moved forward in the sale process for Fuji Media's property business, Sankei Building, Bloomberg reported. Preliminary bids reportedly value the real estate unit at about 1 trillion Japanese yen ($6.18 billion), potentially making it the largest property deal in Japan, the report said. Blackstone shares rose 1.1%.

$BX$CME$JPM$OWL
Sectors

Sector Update: Healthcare Stocks Gain Late Afternoon

Healthcare stocks rose late Thursday afternoon with the NYSE Healthcare Index gaining 1.7% and the State Street Health Care Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLV) adding 1.6%.The iShares Biotechnology ETF (IBB) advanced 1.3%.In corporate news, Bio-Techne (TECH) shares jumped 20% after the company agreed to be acquired by Germany's Merck in an all-cash deal with an enterprise value of $11.3 billion.Eli Lilly (LLY) shares rose 1% after the company said its weight management medicines Foundayo and Zepbound will be available to eligible Medicare Part D patients for $50 a month under the Medicare GLP-1 Bridge program, starting July 1.Kymera Therapeutics (KYMR) shares jumped 16% after the company said it has completed enrollment in a phase 2b trial of KT-621 in moderate to severe atopic dermatitis ahead of schedule.PRF Technologies' (PRFX) PRF-110 demonstrated analgesic efficacy comparable to Zynrelef in a preclinical study evaluating postoperative pain treatment, the company said. The shares climbed 13%.

$KYMR$LLY$PRFX$TECH