There was very little oil-related news yesterday, but that didn't stop oil prices from rising all day. WTI crude futures for next month's delivery have again exceeded 100 bucks and are approaching the highs that were reached during the initial events in the Middle East.Oil prices rose after Trump left a meeting with his Chinese counterpart without seriously discussing the issue of increasing energy flows through the Strait of Hormuz, which again raised concerns about a deepening disruption in global supplies. As for the worried traders, they do not believe that the United States and Iran will somehow come to an agreement before May 31.
In recent days, there has been a noticeable increase in the number of supertankers transporting unauthorized oil (mainly Iraqi) through the Strait of Hormuz. Since May 10, 4 supertankers, each with ~2 million barrels, have left the strait.
This only partially eases the situation in the oil market after the largest supply disruption in history. Before the war, about 20 tankers passed through the strait every day, now the traffic is much lower. In general, the Strait of Hormuz has remained largely blocked since the end of February due to the war and the American blockade of Iranian ports. This has led to a reduction in global supplies by about a billion barrels.
Overall, despite the growth in traffic, volumes remain low. Analysts note that even with the departure of all tankers, new ones will not enter in the near future.
On Sunday, Trump made it clear that his patience was running out, saying that this was the time for Iran. And they better act fast, otherwise there won't be anything left of them. Time decides everything. An Iranian semi-official news agency reported that the United States had put forward five main conditions for a peace agreement, including the transfer of uranium related to Iran's nuclear program to the United States, the refusal to repatriate to Tehran, and the thawing of less than a quarter of Iran's frozen assets. Well, one more such moment before Trump's trip and during it was that three Chinese tankers transporting Iranian oil through the Strait of Hormuz did it because the United States allowed them to do so, hinting that now there would be no such indulgences. However, again, Iran claims that more than thirty ships have passed through the strait since Wednesday evening. The situation is still at an impasse, and it is still unclear to the markets what will happen next. This is a situation that clearly does not favor a rise in the price of Bitcoin.