MW U.S. oil prices drop below $83 a barrel after Iran declares Strait of Hormuz 'completely open' during cease-fire

By Isabel Wang and Nora Redmond

Iran's foreign minister says Strait of Hormuz 'completely open' to commercial vessels during cease-fire

President Donald Trump claimed that Iran had agreed to turn over its uranium.

Oil prices were falling on Friday morning after Iran's foreign minister said the passage for all commercial vessels through Strait of Hormuz is declared open for the remaining period of the cease-fire.

West Texas Intermediate crude on Friday saw its May contract (CL.1) (CLK26) fall 9% to $82.93 a barrel after trading as high as $105.63 earlier this week, while Brent crude futures for June delivery (BRN00) (BRNM26) were down 8.8% to $90.60 a barrel, according to FactSet data.

President Donald Trump said the Iran conflict "should be ending pretty soon" at an event in Las Vegas late Thursday. He added that Washington and Tehran could be meeting for another round of negotiations "probably, maybe, next weekend."

See: Stock futures hit session highs as Iranian official says Strait of Hormuz is 'completely open'

"It's looking very good that we're going to make a deal with Iran, and it's going to be a good deal," he told reporters outside the White House earlier on Thursday.

The president also announced Thursday that the leaders of Israel and Lebanon had reached a ceasefire deal, which came as fighting raged between Israel and the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah.

Despite Trump's optimism about a potential upcoming truce, Gulf Arab and European leaders believe a deal between the two will take about six months to achieve and are encouraging the U.S. and Iran to extend their current cease-fire to support negotiations, according to a Bloomberg report.

Read: As the Iran conflict squeezes global energy supplies, U.S. oil is gaining an unusual edge

"Oil at $90 is now being viewed very differently [from weeks ago]," said Daniela Hathorn, senior market analyst at Capital.com. "Having retreated from the more extreme levels seen during peak escalation, it is now seen as elevated but manageable, rather than a sign of systemic stress."

The current pricing also suggests that crude can stay higher without breaking the system, but only within a certain range, Hathorn told MarketWatch in written commentary on Friday.

"If prices remain around $80-90, they may act as a manageable headwind. But if oil pushes back toward $100 or remains elevated for an extended period, which would be evident in the futures price curve, the impact on margins, inflation and policy expectations becomes harder to ignore," she added.

-Isabel Wang -Nora Redmond

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April 17, 2026 09:15 ET (13:15 GMT)

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