{"id":207987,"date":"2026-04-17T16:54:43","date_gmt":"2026-04-17T16:54:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/oil-prices-plunge-10-after-iran-says-strait-of-hormuz-is-open-for-commercial-vessels-nbc-news\/"},"modified":"2026-04-17T16:54:43","modified_gmt":"2026-04-17T16:54:43","slug":"oil-prices-plunge-10-after-iran-says-strait-of-hormuz-is-open-for-commercial-vessels-nbc-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/oil-prices-plunge-10-after-iran-says-strait-of-hormuz-is-open-for-commercial-vessels-nbc-news\/","title":{"rendered":"Oil prices plunge 10% after Iran says Strait of Hormuz is open for commercial vessels – NBC News"},"content":{"rendered":"

news Alerts
There are no new alerts at this time
The price of oil plunged sharply and two U.S. stock indexes hit all-time highs Friday after Iran\u2019s foreign minister said the Strait of Hormuz was open for commercial vessels.
Subscribe to read this story ad-free
Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.
\u201cIn line with the ceasefire in Lebanon, the passage for all commercial vessels through Strait of Hormuz is declared completely open for the remaining period of ceasefire, on the coordinated route as already announced by Ports and Maritime Organisation of the Islamic Rep. of Iran,\u201d Abbas Araghchi wrote in a post on X<\/a>.
U.S. crude oil plunged 12% to around $83 per barrel, while international Brent crude also slid more than 10% to around $89 per barrel.
Heating oil futures, which are a proxy for jet fuel, plummeted 11%. Wholesale RBOB gas futures also fell 6%.
It was not immediately clear if the reference to a \u201ccoordinated route,\u201d meant that ships would need to pay a toll to Iran, as some have reportedly done in recent weeks. It was also not immediately clear if ships in the region, which have been threatened and attacked, would trust this announcement.
Shortly after the Iranian minister\u2019s post, President Donald Trump celebrated the news with his own post on Truth Social,<\/a> which read: \u201cIRAN HAS JUST ANNOUNCED THAT THE STRAIT OF IRAN IS FULLY OPEN AND READY FOR FULL PASSAGE. THANK YOU!\u201d<\/p>\n

However, Trump, in a second post<\/a>, said that \u201cthe Naval blockade will remain in full force and effect as it pertains to Iran, only, until such time as our transaction with Iran is 100% complete.\u201d
GasBuddy analyst Patrick De Haan wrote on X <\/a>that the shift in oil prices could quickly translate to lower gas prices.
\u201cThis could accelerate sending fuel prices lower starting this weekend with the national average likely falling below $4\/gal to perhaps $3.65-$3.85,\u201d De Haan wrote.
As of Friday morning, the average price per gallon was $4.09, according to AAA, and has been declining a few cents each day this week.
Oil prices remain elevated, however, even given Friday\u2019s drop. Since the start of the war, the price of U.S. crude oil is up 25%, and it\u2019s up more than 45% since the start of the year.
In midday trading, the S&P 500 rose 1.4% and the Nasdaq Composite jumped 1.6%. Both set new all-time highs as a result.
The Dow jumped more than 1,000 points, or 2.3%, and the Russell 2000 index rose 2.2%.
U.S. Treasury yields also moved sharply lower. The yield on the 10-year U.S. government bond fell to 4.23%, its lowest level since March 18.
Stocks across Europe also rallied higher on the Iranian minister\u2019s announcement, with the Stoxx 600 index rising 1.4%. Germany\u2019s DAX jumped 2.2%, stocks in France rose 2%, and the benchmark FTSE 100 index in the U.K. rose nearly 1%.
European leaders, who were holding a summit when the announcement from Iran emerged, cautiously welcomed the news.
\u201cUnder international law, transit through waterways like the Strait of Hormuz must remain open and free of charge,\u201d said the E.U.\u2019s top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, in a post on X<\/a>. \u201cAny pay-for-passage scheme will set a dangerous precedent for global maritime routes.\u201d
French President Emmanuel Macron and U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who were leading the summit, also welcomed the news. But Macron said that securing the strait needed to be done by a neutral and independent party. \u201cThe strait should be reopened immediately with no tolls and no restrictions,\u201d Starmer added.
Two of the world\u2019s largest shipping companies also responded cautiously to the news.
\u201cSince the outbreak of the conflict, we have followed the guidance of our security partners in the region, and the recommendation so far has been to avoid transiting the Strait of Hormuz,\u201d Maersk said in a statement. \u201cAny decision to transit the strait will be based on risk assessments and close monitoring of the security situation.\u201d
Hapag-Lloyd said \u201cthere are still some open questions,\u201d but that its \u201ccrisis committee is in session and will try to resolve all open items\u201d in the next 24 to 36 hours.
\u201cIf all open issues are cleared (i.e. insurance coverage, clear orders of Iranian government\/military about the exact sea corridor to be used and the sequence of ships leaving) we would prefer to pass the strait as soon as possible,\u201d the company\u2019s statement said.
Steve Kopack is a senior reporter at NBC News covering business and the economy.
© 2026 NBCUniversal Media, LLC<\/p>\n

source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

news AlertsThere are no new alerts at this timeThe price of oil plunged sharply and two U.S. stock indexes hit all-time highs Friday after Iran\u2019s foreign minister said the Strait of Hormuz was open for commercial vessels.Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.\u201cIn line with the ceasefire […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":207988,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-207987","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-us","8":"entry"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/207987","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=207987"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/207987\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/207988"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=207987"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=207987"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=207987"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}