EnergyReader · 2026-06-18 13:54

The SPR drain and the stalled tankers: two oil signals the rally is ignoring

By EnergyReader Newsroom · June 18, 2026

ICE Brent crude front-month traded near $78 on Thursday (2026-06-18), well below the levels above $111 it touched on 12 May (2026-05-12), when Hormuz access had been shut for more than eight weeks. As recently as Wednesday (2026-06-10), crude rose nearly 1% after US strikes on Iranian military targets near the Hormuz chokepoint, one of the world's most important shipping routes. The market has since faded that risk and piled back into peace-talk optimism.

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US Strategic Petroleum Reserve Brent Crude Oil Strait of Hormuz