Oil Heads for Sharp Weekly Drop

Crude oil traded around $76 per barrel on Friday and was on track to fall roughly 10% for the week, as investors welcomed improving shipping conditions in the Strait of Hormuz following the implementation of the US-Iran interim peace agreement, which brought an end to a prolonged conflict that triggered the largest supply disruption on record. The US Central Command announced it had lifted restrictions on traffic to and from Iranian ports and coastal waters, while the Joint Maritime Information Center advised vessels transiting the strait to follow a route closer to Oman’s coastline to reduce the risk from mines. Tankers carrying previously stranded crude began exiting the waterway on Thursday, and Kuwait said it would begin increasing production. As a result, oil prices have erased nearly all the gains recorded since the Middle East conflict began in late February.