The compelling need for oil and gas trades to normalize is hard to ignore. Hours before Tehran said navigation through the Strait of Hormuz will be managed in the spirit of the US-Iran interim peace deal, traffic had resumed flowing in both directions through the vital chokepoint on Friday, despite an earlier shock attack on a container vessel.

Two fully laden tankers are heading out of the Persian Gulf, while four empty, inbound, very large crude carriers — bellwethers of demand for energy transport — are among the vessels sailing along the Omani coast, ship-tracking data show. This southern route is managed by Oman and coordinated by the US.