Hormuz is (apparently) unblocked. Energy markets remain a mess

Apr 17th 2026|6 min read

ON APRIL 17TH Seyed Abbas Araghchi, Iran’s foreign minister, declared that commercial passage through the Strait of Hormuz was “completely open”. Shortly afterwards Donald Trump, America’s president, echoed his words: the conduit was “completely open and ready for business”. Oil traders, relieved that 15-20% of the world’s oil, and almost as much of its liquefied natural gas (LNG), might at last be released to global markets, pushed futures prices for Brent, the global benchmark, down by more than 10%, to $89 a barrel, their lowest since March 10th. The spot price at the Dutch Title Transfer Facility, Europe’s gas-trading hub, fell below €40 ($47) per megawatt-hour for the first time since the conflict began.