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Welcome back to the City AM liveblog.
The price of oil is heading lower this morning as the outlook around the Strait of Hormuz improves.
Brent crude – the international benchmark for oil prices – tumbled below $73 per barrel, extending losses for a fourth consecutive session. These moves helped wipe out all the gains made since the outbreak of the Middle East conflict.
Cooling in the market came amid growing confidence that a lasting agreement between the US and Iran would get more ships flowing through the Strait of Hormuz with their trackers on.
Earlier this week, the International Martime Organisation estimated there were between 500 and 600 ships stranded near the narrow waterway which include as many as 100 tankers.
But Donald Trump has renewed pressure on Iran that “negotiations would end immediately” should it place tolls on the Strait.
A temporary US waiver thaat paved the way for purchases of already-loaded Iranian oil is also expected to further bolster available supply.
Trump has also hit out at big oil companies, which he blasted for “not dropping their price at the pump” as oil came down.
“Those prices are dropping like a rock! In other words, customers are being ‘gouged.’ I have instructed the Department of Justice to immediately start looking into this,” he wrote on his social media platform Truth Social.
“Gasoline prices better start going down a lot faster than what I’m seeing!”
We’ll be bringing you the latest market updates and analysis throughout the day.