Global oil prices are projected to stay in the ‘low $100s’<\/strong> for much of the current year, even if the crucial Strait of Hormuz reopens as early as next month, according to investment bank JP Morgan. The bank indicated on Monday that oil supplies in the region would not swiftly return to normal operations.<\/p>\n This analysis emerges as oil prices saw an increase following President Donald Trump’s comments, describing Iran’s response to US proposals aimed at resolving the conflict as ‘totally unacceptable’<\/strong>. Tehran conveyed its response through Pakistan, which has acted as a mediator, reportedly calling for an immediate cessation of hostilities and guarantees against further US-Israeli attacks on Iran, as per Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency.<\/p>\n International oil benchmark Brent initially surged by over 4% to $105.94 (\u00a377.74) a barrel before stabilizing around $105.<\/p>\n The vital Strait of Hormuz waterway has been largely inaccessible since shortly after the conflict began on February 28, significantly disrupting global oil and gas supplies. Washington’s terms for a resolution reportedly included the restoration of free transit through the Strait of Hormuz and the suspension of Iranian nuclear enrichment, according to US news outlet Axios. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also stated that the conflict would continue until Iran’s enriched uranium stockpiles are ‘taken out’.<\/p>\n A ceasefire initiated in early April for peace talks has mostly held, despite occasional skirmishes. President Trump extended this truce indefinitely on April 21 to allow Iran time to present a ‘unified proposal’.<\/p>\n The Strait of Hormuz, a narrow passage between Iran, the UAE, and Oman, is a critical global shipping route. Approximately 20% of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas typically passes through this strait, originating from Iran and other Gulf states like Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE. In 2025, an estimated 20 million barrels of oil traversed the waterway daily, representing nearly $600 billion (\u00a3447 billion) in annual energy trade. Sea traffic has been substantially reduced since the conflict’s onset.<\/p>\n Energy prices have experienced considerable volatility since the conflict began, with Brent crude recovering above $100 a barrel since the ceasefire on April 8. JP Morgan’s latest analysis suggests oil prices will remain in the low $100s for most of this year, averaging $97 for 2026. The bank emphasized that a quick normalization is not anticipated even after the Strait reopens, foreseeing bottlenecks shifting to tanker availability, refinery ramp-ups, and broader logistical challenges.<\/p>\n Major energy companies have reported significant profit increases due to soaring oil and gas prices. Saudi Arabian energy giant Aramco announced a more than 25% jump in earnings for the first three months of the year compared to 2025. Aramco CEO Amin Nasser highlighted the company’s cross-country pipeline as a ‘critical supply artery’ that helped mitigate shipping disruptions caused by the conflict. BP and Shell also reported substantial profit increases for the same period.<\/p>\n Nasser further cautioned investors on Monday that the energy shock triggered by the conflict could extend into 2027, even with the Strait of Hormuz reopening. He noted an ‘unprecedented supply loss of about a billion barrels of oil’.<\/p>\n According to a Reuters survey, crude output by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in April decreased by 830,000 barrels per day month-on-month, reaching 20.04 million bpd.<\/p>\n #OilPrices #StraitOfHormuz #EnergyMarket #Geopolitics #CrudeOil #JPMorgan #OPEC #GlobalEconomy #EnergySecurity #MiddleEast<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Global Oil Prices Face Sustained Pressure Global oil prices are projected to stay in the ‘low $100s’ for much of the current year, even if the crucial Strait of Hormuz reopens as early as next month, according to investment bank JP Morgan. The bank indicated on Monday that oil supplies in the region would not […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7637,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7636","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-iran_news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vanak.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7636","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vanak.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vanak.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vanak.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vanak.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7636"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/vanak.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7636\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vanak.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/7637"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vanak.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7636"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vanak.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7636"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vanak.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7636"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Geopolitical Developments and Market Reactions<\/h3>\n
The Critical Role of the Strait of Hormuz<\/h3>\n
Market Outlook and Corporate Performance<\/h3>\n