Market news & insights
Stay ahead of the markets with expert insights, news, and technical analysis to guide your trading decisions.
The 8 April ceasefire announcement and parallel discussions around a 45-day truce have not resolved the Strait of Hormuz disruption. They have, for now, capped the worst-case scenario, but tanker traffic remains at a fraction of normal levels and Iran's demand for transit fees signals a structural shift, not a temporary one.
What began as a regional conflict has become a global energy shock, and the question for markets is no longer whether Hormuz was disrupted, but how permanently the disruption changes the pricing floor for oil.
Key takeaways
- Around 20 million barrels per day (bpd) of oil and petroleum products normally pass through the Strait of Hormuz between Iran and Oman, equal to about one-fifth of global oil consumption and roughly 30% of global seaborne oil trade.
- This is a flow shock, not an inventory problem. Oil markets depend on continuous throughput, not static storage.
- If the disruption persists beyond a few weeks, Brent could shift from a short-term spike to a broader price shock, with stagflation risk.
- Tanker traffic through the strait fell from around 135 ships per day to fewer than 15 at the peak of disruption, a reduction of approximately 85%, with more than 150 vessels anchored, diverted, or delayed.
- A two-week ceasefire was announced on 8 April, with 45-day truce negotiations under way. Iran has separately signalled a demand for transit fees on vessels using the strait, which, if formalised, would represent a permanent geopolitical floor on energy costs.
- Markets have begun rotating away from growth and technology exposure toward energy and defence names, reflecting a view that elevated oil is becoming a structural cost rather than a temporary risk premium.
The world’s most critical oil chokepoint
The Strait of Hormuz handles roughly 20 million barrels per day of oil and petroleum products, equal to about 20% of global oil consumption and around 30% of global seaborne oil trade. With global oil demand near 104 million bpd and spare capacity limited, the market was already tightly balanced before the latest escalation.
The strait is also a critical corridor for liquefied natural gas. Around 290 million cubic metres of LNG transited the route each day on average in 2024, representing roughly 20% of global LNG trade, with Asian markets the main destination.
The International Energy Agency (IEA) has described Hormuz as the world’s most important oil transit chokepoint, noting that even partial interruptions may trigger outsized price moves. Brent crude has moved above US$100 a barrel, reflecting both physical tightness and a rising geopolitical risk premium.
Tankers idle as flows slow
Shipping and insurance data now point to strain in real time. More than 85 large crude carriers are reported to be stranded in the Persian Gulf, while more than 150 vessels have been anchored, diverted or delayed as operators reassess safety and insurance cover. That would leave an estimated 120 million to 150 million barrels of crude sitting idle at sea.
Those volumes represent only six to seven days of normal Hormuz throughput, or a little more than one day of global oil consumption.
Updated shipping and insurance data now confirm more than 150 vessels have been anchored, diverted, or delayed, up from the 85 initially reported. The 1.3 days of global consumption coverage from idle crude remains the binding constraint: this is a flow shock, not a storage problem, and the ceasefire has not yet translated into meaningfully restored throughput.
A market built on flow, not storage
Oil markets function on continuous movement. Refineries, petrochemical plants and global supply chains are calibrated to steady deliveries along predictable sea lanes. When flows through a chokepoint that carries roughly one-fifth of global oil consumption and around 30% of global seaborne oil trade are interrupted, the system can move from equilibrium to deficit within days.
Spare production capacity, largely concentrated within OPEC, is estimated at only 3 million to 5 million bpd. That falls well short of the volumes at risk if Hormuz flows are severely disrupted.
Oil market analysis
How long do idle tankers last?
135M idle barrels — days of cover against each demand benchmark
vs. Strait of Hormuz daily flow (20M bbl/day)
vs. Global oil consumption (104M bbl/day)
vs. US Strategic Petroleum Reserve release (1M bbl/day)
135M
idle barrels on tankers (midpoint of 120–150M range)
~33%
of daily Hormuz flow that is idle storage, not transit
<31 hrs
is all idle storage against global daily consumption
Inflation risks and macro spillovers
The inflationary impact of an oil shock typically arrives in waves. Higher fuel and energy prices may lift headline inflation quickly as petrol, diesel and power costs move higher.
Over time, higher energy costs may pass through freight, food, manufacturing and services. If the disruption persists, the combination of elevated inflation and slower growth could raise the risk of a stagflationary environment and leave central banks facing a difficult trade-off.
No easy offset, a system with little slack
What makes the current episode particularly acute is the lack of slack in the global system.
Global supply and demand near 103 million to 104 million bpd leave little spare cushion when a chokepoint handling nearly 20 million bpd, or about one-fifth of global oil consumption, is compromised. Estimated spare capacity of 3 million to 5 million bpd, mostly within OPEC, would cover only a fraction of the volumes at risk.
Alternative routes, including pipelines that bypass Hormuz and rerouted shipping, can only partly offset lost flows, and usually at higher cost and with longer lead times.
Bottom line
Until transit through the Strait of Hormuz is restored and seen as credibly secure, global oil flows are likely to remain impaired and risk premia elevated. For investors, policymakers and corporate decision-makers, the core question is whether oil can move where it needs to go, every day, without interruption.
USD continued the move lower sparked by a somewhat dovish Powell in Wednesdays FOMC meeting. And ahead of today’s key NFP print. DXY did hit highs after hot labour costs data, though quickly reversed to hit 3-week lows of 105.29, closing at session lows and looking to test the major support at 105.
JPY was the clear outperformer of G10 currencies, helped by a Reuters report that BoJ data suggesting that the sharp spikes in Yen strength on Monday and Wednesday this week were indeed BoJ intervention. USDJPY dropping almost 4.5% from the spike high early in Monday’s session to be hovering just above the 153 mark coming in to today’s APAC session. CHF was also an outperformer in Thursday’s session, led higher by a hot April Swiss CPI print where the headline figure of 1.4% Y/Y was well above the expected 1.1%.
USDCHF dropped to a low of 0.9094 before finding some buyers at the April support level of 0.9085, this will be a key level to watch in this pair ahead oh US NFP later today.
Mondays FX trade was relatively quiet on ahead of a some key central bank meetings today in the RBA and especially the BoJ. USD saw gains with the Dollar Index (DXY) rising from lows of 103.33 to highs of 103.65, with the index heading into APAC trade near Monday’s session high after yields were higher across the curve ahead of key risk events this week. JPY stuttered against the Dollar with USDJPY rising slightly and holding above the 149 level ahead of today’s BoJ rate decision.
The latest from Nikkei suggests the BoJ is set to end NIRP, end YCC and also end ETF purchases at today’s meeting. Markets are not fully convinced though with rates futures pricing in around a 50-50 chance of a move from the BoJ today, with April being the timeline some economist’s favour. AUDUSD was flat ultimately flat with AUDUSD rallying modestly in the APAC and UK session before paring gains in the US session ahead of today’s RBA meeting.
The Aussie central bank is widely expected to hold rates, but it will be the statement and presser to see what level of tightening bias (if any) the RBA still holds that will move the Aussie. Gold bounced back modestly, despite a mostly bid USD and higher yields, finding buyers and holding the key 2150 USD an ounce support level.
The negative dollar reaction to a modest tick-up in US jobless claims yesterday (231k versus consensus 212k) where the US Dollar Index (DXY) dropped from session highs at 105.74 to close at session lows of 105.20 seems to be telling FX traders that tells us that: a) markets are probably lacking some sense of direction in the period between payrolls and US CPI. b) the generally overbought dollar remains quite vulnerable to even slightly softer US data releases. c) markets may be buying in more convincingly on the softening US jobs market narrative. Beyond very short-term price movements, it’s looking like the key for the USD to trend materially lower remains inflation. Consensus is looking at 0.3% month-on-month core CPI print on Wednesday, which is still too high for the Fed to start cutting rates this summer.
Today’s US calendar includes only the University of Michigan surveys. Markets will be watching closely whether the medium and long-term inflation expectations have moved at all from April’s 3.0/3.2% levels. From the Fed the most interesting speaker will be Neel Kashkari, who recently argued for a higher neutral rate, which would suggest current monetary policy is not as restrictive as perceived.
USD was notably lower after what was seen as a dovish FOMC meeting on Wednesday. The Fed 2024 median dot was left unchanged with 3 cuts for 2024 still the Fed forecast but the dovish part came at the presser where Fed Chair Powell downplayed the hot January and February CPI numbers. This dovish tilt saw risk assets surge and the USD dump.
USDJPY bucked the weak Dollar trend pushing up to 152 before the result from the FOMC saw it pare some of those gains. A hawkish BoJ source reporting in Nikkei that suggested another hike could come in July or October also supporting the Yen somewhat. There is also speculation if the Yen weakness were to continue the BoJ/MoF could step in to intervene, with ING noting that local accounts felt that 155 would be red line.
Gold ripped to all time highs, with XAUUSD hitting a high of 2222 USD an ounce on the back of USD weakness and falling yields post FOMC, before falling back just above the old high at 2195 heading into the APAC session. Today ahead, more Central Bank action out of the BoE and SNB for FX traders to look forward to.
USD was slightly lower on Monday with DXY hitting a low of 104.140, holding above the 104 support level. News was light with only New Home Sales of any note, which missed modestly to the downside (662k vs the expected 675k). There was some Fed speak, the highlight being Fed hawk Bostic where he reiterated his desire of just one rate cut in 2024, this failed to make much impact on the Dollar though.
AUD and NZD saw gains to differing degrees against the USD with AUD outperforming, continuing the steep rally in AUDNZD to see the pair touching on 1.09 and firmly in overbought territory. Both AUD and NZD supported by the surprise Yuan fix by the PBoC that was much firmer than forecast. AUDUSD initially tested Friday's low at 0.6510, before the fix and improving risk sentiment saw it reverse course to hit a high of 0.6546.
USDJPY was ultimately flat in a tight ranged session. Some more jawboning from top currency diplomat Kanda saying that the BoJ has been closely watching “FX moves with a high sense of urgency and will take appropriate steps to respond” saw the talk of intervention arise with Bank of America noting that intervention is seen as a 'realistic option' to support the Yen, especially if the USDJPY cross rises to the 152-155 zone.
JPY was the currency everyone was watching coming into the pivotal BoJ meeting on Tuesday. The BoJ, as widely telegraphed, ended 17 years of negative interest rates, ETF purchases and their yield curve control policy. While a big move from the central bank there was no real surprise, with USDJPY surging to touch on 151, well into the “intervention zone” above 150.
The US Dollar Index was bid on JPY weakness, seeing DXY briefly rise above 104.00 to a peak of 104.06 in the UK session before paring some gains head of today’s closely watched FOMC meeting. AUDUSD dropped to 1 week lows after the RBA rate decision which left rates on hold as expected, but pulled back slightly on the tightening bias namely a language change from “further increase in interest rates cannot be ruled out “ to “not ruling anything in or out on interest rates”. NZD saw weakness in sympathy of the Aussie although AUDNZD saw marginal gains but failed to breach 1.08 with a high of 1.0793.