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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.
The Aussie dollar has been fairly directionless since late February with it seemingly waiting for a catalyst to break it’s ranges and take the next leg up or down, data this week has failed to provide that. This opens up a couple of very good opportunities for traders, range trading the AUDUSD and mean reversion trades on the AUDNZD. Starting with AUDUSD, we’ve seen a very strong and tight range develop between a high of 0.6818 to a low of 0.6564 since late February, with the AUD moving in unison with risk sentiment, recently a push lower in this pair has been driven by US debt ceiling concerns, and haven flows into the USD.
Using an equidistant four-part grid the buy and sell zones to take advantage of this range trading opportunity become clear. While this range continues, buying in the green zones and selling in the red zones has so far been very successful. This looks likely to continue while the aforementioned US debt ceiling impasse remains in place, though traders will need to be on top of any developments, a resolution is likely to see risk roar back and the AUD take a leg up.
The other opportunity is the relative underperformance of the AUD vs its close neighbour, NZD. This has seen AUDNZD drop below its 10 year mean of 1.07, giving mean reversion traders an opportunity to buy this pair at a discount. Weekly chart of AUDNZD, showing how this mean reversion trade has worked over the last 8 years.
To help with entries, a shorter time frame chart can be used, below is the 4-hour chart showing a strong support zone has formed between 1.0650 – 1.0580 during the last month, where price has tested on multiple occasions before moving back to the 1.07 level. These are two of my favourite trading styles I’ve used over the years, but as always, have an exit plan and keep aware of macro happenings if you are looking to incorporate this style of trading into your toolbox. AUDUSD – US debt ceiling negotiations AUDNZD – RBA and RBNZ rate expectations
In the lead-up to the European Central Bank (ECB) interest rate decision this week, the market has seen significant turmoil. Firstly from the Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) failure, followed by the news that Credit Suisse’s largest financial backer is unlikely to provide further financial support. This led to Credit Suisse stock plunging by more than 28% and taking with it, the Eurozone bond yields and the Euro.
President Lagarde from the ECB had been signaling to the market, on multiple occasions, since the previous meeting that the ECB will hike rates by 50bps at the March meeting. However, with the current uncertainty especially with the banking failures seen in the US, the market has begun pricing in the possibility that the ECB hikes rates with more caution by deciding on 35bps rather than 50bps at the March meeting. This has led the EURUSD to reverse all recent gains, turning down from the 1.0750 price level to trade along the key support level of 1.0540.
If the ECB releases a decision to hike rates by less than 50bps, this would be a major red flag to the market and also indicate a slowdown in its path of monetary policy tightening, which could see the EURUSD continue with the current downward momentum. If the price breaks below the current support level and the interim price level of 1.0440, the EURUSD could see significant moves downside, supported by the cross-over of the MACD, with the next key support level at 1.0220, which was the previous swing low in November 2022. Alternatively, if the ECB maintains its previous stance and decides to hike rates by 50bps at this meeting, the EURUSD could see brief relief.
However, it would be unlikely that the price would reverse significantly, with the current market uncertainties likely to maintain the downward pressures and the 1.08 resistance level likely to hold firm.
Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. (NASDAQ: WBA) announced the latest financial results before the market open in the US on Tuesday. The company beat both revenue and earnings per share (EPS) estimates. Walgreens reported revenue of $34.862 billion for the quarter ending February 28, 2023 (up by 3.3% year-over-year) vs. $33.528 billion expected.
EPS reported at $1.16 per share (down by 27.2% year-over-year) vs. $1.103 per share estimate. CEO commentary "WBA exited a solid second quarter with acceleration in February, adding to our confidence in driving strong growth in the second half of the year. With the closing of VillageMD's acquisition of Summit Health, WBA is now one of the largest players in primary care, with best-in-class assets across the care continuum.
Both Walgreens and Boots are performing well by delivering compelling value to consumers, playing a critical role as community health destinations, and successfully navigating a challenging environment. We will continue to take bold actions to create sustainable long-term shareholder value," CEO of the company, Rosalind Brewer said in a press release. The stock was up by around 1% in pre-market trading following the latest results.
The stock is down by 11.83% year-to-date at $32.96 a share. Stock performance 1 month: -7.29% 3 months: -14.02% Year-to-date: -11.83% 1 year: -31.12% Walgreens Boots Alliance price targets Barclays: $43 Evercore ISI Group: $35 Loop Capital: $45 Morgan Stanley: $37 Truist Securities: $42 JP Morgan: $40 Credit Suisse: $41 Mizuho: $41 Cowen & Co.: $54 Deutsche Bank: $50 Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. is the 605 th largest company in the world with a market cap of $28.41 billion. You can trade Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. (NASDAQ: WBA) and many other stocks from the NYSE, NASDAQ, HKEX, ASX, LSE and DE with GO Markets as a Share CFD.
Sources: Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc., TradingView, MarketWatch, MetaTrader 5, Benzinga, CompaniesMarketCap
Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) announced Q4 and full-year financial results before the market open on Wall Street on Tuesday. World’s largest supermarket chain posted solid results for the quarter – beating both revenue and earnings per share (EPS) estimates. The company reported revenue of $164.048 billion (up by 7.3% year-over-year) vs. $159.759 billion expected.
EPS reported at $1.71 per share for the quarter vs. $1.518 EPS estimate. Full-year revenues reached $611.3 billion (up by 6.7% vs. a year prior) and EPS at $6.29 per share. CEO commentary ''We’re excited about our momentum.
The team delivered a strong quarter to finish the year, and as our results in the last two quarters show, they acted quickly and aggressively to address the inventory and cost challenges we faced last year. We built momentum in the third quarter and that continues. We are well-positioned to start this fiscal year,'' Doug McMillon, CEO of Walmart said in a press release following the latest results.
Stock reaction The results did not have a big impact on the share price Tuesday. The stock was up by 0.61% at $147.21 a share. Stock performance 1 month: +3.29% 3 months: -2.53% Year-to-date: +3.91% 1 year: +6.77% Walmart stock price targets Cowen & Co.: $180 Telsey Advisory Group: $165 Morgan Stanley: $161 Gordon Haskett: $155 Barclays: $159 Oppenheimer: $160 Tigress Financial: $176 UBS: $168 Credit Suisse: $170 Bernstein: $159 Walmart is the 18 th largest company in the world with a market cap of $397.31 billion.
You can trade Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) and many other stocks from the NYSE, NASDAQ, HKEX, ASX, LSE and DE with GO Markets as a Share CFD. Sources: Walmart, TradingView, MarketWatch, MetaTrader 5, Benzinga, CompaniesMarketCap
The overall risk appetite in the market has increased this week following the news that the banking sector’s issues appear to have been resolved. As a result, the Japanese Yen’s status as a safe haven currency may have been hurt in this risk-on market environment. Paired with the renewed recovery in strength in the DXY, this has led to the USDJPY bouncing off the key support and round number price level of 130 to trade steadily higher.
This move higher was sustained as the price broke through the descending trendline, with the USDJPY rising toward the 133-round number resistance level, which coincides with the 38.2% Fibonacci retracement level and 100-period moving average (MA). While the USDJPY could retrace briefly at this resistance area, look for the USDJPY to break beyond the 133 resistance level and 100 MA to signal a continuation of the upward move, with the next resistance level of 135 and the 61.8% Fibonacci retracement level a possible target level. However, watch out for the developing news from the Bank of Japan (BoJ) following recent comments that the BoJ could tweak the current Yield Curve Control (YCC) if the economic and price conditions justify phasing out stimulus.
Widening of the target level or removal of the YCC could lead to a significant strengthening of the Japanese Yen.
The USDJPY had been trading steadily higher in February, from the 128.50 support level, up toward the 137 round number resistance level. This move was driven by a combination of fundamental reasons (strengthening of the DXY and overall weakness of the Japanese Yen) and technical setup (the golden cross, where the 50-period Moving Average crossed over the 200-period Moving Average). This week, the Bank of Japan (BoJ) is set to release its latest decision on its Policy Rate and the accompanying Monetary Policy Statement.
The BoJ is expected to persist with its current stance, maintaining an ultra-lose monetary policy approach as it is the last BoJ policy meeting for Governor Kuroda. However, last week, the yield on the 10-yr Japanese Government Bonds (JGBs) consolidated slightly above the 0.5% ceiling adjusted by the BoJ on 20th December 2022. Following the announcement of the increased yield limit, the Japanese Yen strengthened significantly, with the USDJPY trading down from 137.30 to 130.60.
The markets are now watching if the BoJ would take on a similar action again. As the DXY weakened toward the end of the week, the USDJPY was dragged lower, reversing from the 137 resistance level, down to the 135.80 price level to test the 50-period Moving Average. If the price breaks below the Moving Average support level, the USDJPY could trade down to the key support level of 134.50 which coincides with the 38.3% Fibonacci Retracement level.
If the BoJ were to further adjust the yield limits on the 10-yr JGBs, the USDJPY could see a continuation of the downside beyond 134.50, with the next key support level at the 133 price area, formed by the round number and 61.8% Fibonacci Retracement level.