GREAT news for oil prices as Strait of Hormuz OPENS
· The South African
US President Donald Trump on Friday welcomed Iran’s announcement that the crucial Strait of Hormuz will be open to shipping for the duration of a ceasefire.
“THANK YOU!” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform, saying that Iran had announced the narrow waterway was “FULLY OPEN AND READY FOR FULL PASSAGE.”
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Oil prices plunge
Oil prices plunged after Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the vital Strait of Hormuz was “completely open” for commercial tankers and cargo ships during the US-Iran ceasefire.
Araghchi confirmed that the strategic Strait of Hormuz, vital for the global oil trade, will remain “completely open” as long as a ceasefire in the Middle East lasts.
“The passage for all commercial vessels through Strait of Hormuz is declared completely open for the remaining period of ceasefire,” Araghchi said on X.
In line with the ceasefire in Lebanon, the passage for all commercial vessels through Strait of Hormuz is declared completely open for the remaining period of ceasefire, on the coordinated route as already announced by Ports and Maritime Organisation of the Islamic Rep. of Iran.
— Seyed Abbas Araghchi (@araghchi) April 17, 2026
It was not clear whether he was speaking of the 10-day truce agreed by Lebanon and Israel that went into effect at midnight or an earlier two-week truce between Iran and the United States that began on April 8.
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International benchmark Brent North Sea crude plunged more than 10 percent to $89.11 a barrel, after earlier falling five percent on US-Iran peace deal hopes.
The main US contract, West Texas Intermediate, shed 11 percent to $84.11 a barrel.
Should the prices continue to drop, that would spell welcome news for South Africa’s motorists who currently face exorbitant price hikes at the pumps in early May.
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