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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 stronger-than-expected US non-farm employment change data release last week saw the DXY climb strongly higher, beyond the 103 price level. With markets now anticipating that the US Federal Reserve could reinforce its hawkish stance, further upside is expected for the DXY. On the other hand, uncertainty rises over the Bank of Japan’s (BoJ) monetary policy stance following the surfacing of rumors that Masayoshi Amamiya was approached to succeed the current BoJ Governor, Haruhiko Kuroda.
The appointment of Amamiya as governor could likely see the BoJ continue with its ultra-easy monetary policy, ultimately leading to further weakness for the Japanese Yen. Technical Overview The recent change in sentiment of the DXY has led the USDJPY to pause on the previous downtrend, finding support at the 127.00 price area. The current retracement of price to the upside has seen the USDJPY break above the bearish trendline formed in November last year.
If this upward momentum continues and the USDJPY breaks above the 133.50 price level, which coincides with the 23.60 Fibonacci retracement level, this could signal confirmation for a bullish correction. The USDJPY could continue to trade higher, with the bullish momentum supported by the divergence in the Moving Average Convergence & Divergence (MACD), toward the target price level of 142.50 price level, formed by the 61.80% Fibonacci retracement level and previous swing high from November 2022.
Gold had been on a steady rally to the upside with the price climbing along the bullish trendline from the 1620 price level in November 2022 to reach a high of 1960 in February 2023. This move higher was driven by general market anticipation that the US Federal Reserve would pivot on its current monetary policy, slowing down or pausing future interest rate hikes sooner than expected. Fundamental Overview Last week, the US Federal Reserve, European Central Bank, and Bank of England increased their respective interest rates by 50bps.
With the central banks continuing to hike rates, and real yields rising again, gold could be viewed as a less attractive investment option. On Friday, the US non-farm employment change data was released stronger than expected at 517k (Forecast: 193k) and the US unemployment rate fell to 3.4%. This led to a significant recovery in strength for the DXY, with the price climbing to the 103 price area.
Technical Overview As the DXY strengthened, the negatively correlated Gold saw a sharp pullback, with the price trading down to the 1864.61 price level. The retracement in Gold saw it break through several key technical bullish elements, in particular, the bullish trendline from November, the 1900 round number support level, and the first Fibonacci retracement level of 23.6%, leading to the near-term technical outlook for Gold to shift from bullish to be short-term bearish. A deeper correction to the downside can be expected, as the Relative Strength Index (RSI) reversed strongly from the overbought region and through the 50.0 level.
However, the downside momentum could find support between the price range of 1800 and 1740 price range, formed by the 50% and 61.80% Fibonacci retracement levels respectively. Disclaimer: Articles are from GO Markets analysts and contributors and are based on their independent analysis or personal experiences. Views, opinions or trading styles expressed are their own, and should not be taken as either representative of or shared by GO Markets.
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The EUR has been on a run since it bottomed in September 2022. From that time, the price is up almost 15% and is currently trading at 1.0863. However, with important economic data to come out of the USA and the next interest rate decision from both the ECB and the Federal Reserve coming out in the next few days the market may find some more direction for the EUR.
A Hawkish Federal Reserve may be detrimental for a move to the upside of the EUR, whilst a Dovish response may support more growth in the EUR. In addition, with employment data to come out of the USA softer data may support a more dovish Federal reserve. In the past few days and weeks, the EUR has seen some strong momentum on the back of growth data that has seen the region avoid a recession.
Crucially, the GDP of the Eurozone grew by 0.1% which beat an expected 0.1% retraction for the quarter. A general weakening of the USD has also supported a bounce of the EUR as money has moved away from the safety of the greenback and into other assets. Technical Analysis In terms of the long-term analysis, the price has mostly ranged between 1.04 and 1.25 except when the price bottomed last year.
The price is currently showing some weakness and has so far been unable to break through 1.09 and has sold down on candlesticks that are testing the 1.09 level. Therefore, it would not be surprising to see the price retrace to the previous support level at 1.06 before another move to the upside. On the daily price chart, the price is showing a strong upward channel/trend.
This channel shows how the bottom of the channel fall along an important area of market structure. This zone acts as the 50-day moving average, the recent support level and the bottom of the channel. This bolsters this region as a zone for ana entry should the price retrace.
With a target of 1.12 this represents a risk reward of 2.5. Ultimately the trend of the EUR will most likely be dictated by the movements of the Federal reserve and the ECB. However, should the macroeconomic factors permit, the EUR could very well continue its run.
US Dollar Fundamental Analysis Recent data indicated that the U.S. economy grew strongly in the fourth quarter which has boosted the Dollar against the Euro. This has supported the Federal Reserve's hawkish stance in spite of reports that US consumer spending has fallen, and inflation has cooled. According to the Commerce Department, the Consumer Price Index (CPI), the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation measure, increased 0.1% in November after a similar gain the month before.
With traders eagerly awaiting the Federal Reserve's guidance for interest rate rises, the Dollar firmed on Monday and distanced itself from an eight-month trough. Despite last week's eight-month low of 101.50, the U.S. dollar index rose 0.03% to 101.92. US Dollar Index Technical Analysis The Dollar Index is currently testing a major support area taken from the weekly time frame, around $101.55.
It has been consolidating and testing the area for almost 10 days, strongly suggesting that bulls are starting to take back control of the market after a steady decline of roughly -4% in the last 4 weeks. In alignment with the weekly analysis, on the daily timeframe, a trend line from the lower lows can be drawn, and from the chart below, the price has recently reached the bottom of the trend line. The price has consolidated for a number of days at the weekly support level mentioned earlier.
The Dollar may potentially climb towards the resistance level at $104, if it remains above and respects the bottom of the channel.
Bitcoin has rallied extremely hard to start the year as risk on sentiment returned to begin the year with the price of the leading cryptocurrency at its highest level since August of 2022. Risk assets have been the play in early 2023 with hopes for a settling of interest rate hikes by major central banks. As the technology sector and other growth areas have continued to rise up the price of Bitcoin has followed.
The price is almost 50% up from its lows in the middle of December 2022. With the macroeconomic factors still largely the main drivers of the risk sentiment and the upcoming Federal Reserve Funds to be announced on Thursday, the rate announcement could play a large role in the short term price action. The Fed is expected to increase the official rate by 25 bps.
However, all eyes will be on the accompanying commentary that will provide important direction on the Fed’s future plans in the upcoming months. Moreover, a hawkish commentary will likely lead to a selloff in risk assets and dovish commentary the opposite. In terms of the long term perspective the price of Bitcoin has had its best month since October 2021.
The price has made a significant bounce off the 15,000-20,000 support zone and looks to have reclaimed the 50 month moving average. This indicates a potential reversal or at least shift in sentiment. The next region of resistance is the original neckline of the long-term double top, between $30,000 and $40,000.
It may be difficult for the price to break above this resistance in the short term without a catalyst. The other thing to remember is that there is a lot of supply that still needs to be worked through before any significant move upward can occur, although, the monthly candle is looking very encouraging. This next zone of resistance looks to be the primary target in the short to medium term for a long trade on Bitcoin.
Looking at the shorter term charts, they price actions tells a similar story. Specifically, on the daily chart, the price has seemingly paused as it awaits confirmation of a breakout at 25,000. If this breakout can be supported by some significant volume it may confirm the reversal.
The other element that must be considered with Bitcoin is the potential for a short squeeze. With the asset so beaten down, it is possible that shorts will become squeezed leading to aggressive moves to the upside if momentum can begin to build. Ultimately, the price action of Bitcoin will most likely be led by the overall risk sentiment in the market and as such traders should be weary of the overall market sentiment.
Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) reported Q4 2022 financial results after the market close in the US on Wednesday. World’s largest automaker reported revenue that fell short of Wall Street expectations at $24.32 billion (up by 37% vs. Q4 2021) vs. $24.669 billion expected.
The company beat earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Q4. EPS at $1.19 per share vs. $1.127 per share estimate. Company commentary ''Q4-2022 was another record-breaking quarter and 2022 was another record- breaking year.
In the last quarter, we achieved the highest-ever quarterly revenue, operating income and net income in our history. In 2022, total revenue grew 51% YoY to $81.5B and net income (GAP) more than doubled YoY to $12.6B.'' ''As we progress into 2023, we know that there are questions about the near- term impact of an uncertain macroeconomic environment, and in particular, with rising interest rates. The Tesla team is used to challenges, given the culture required to get the company to where it is today.
In the near term we are accelerating our cost reduction roadmap and driving towards higher production rates, while staying focused on executing against the next phase of our roadmap.'' Stock reaction The share price of Tesla was up by 0.38% at $144.34 a share at market close on Wednesday. The stock rose by around 1% in the after-hours trading after the results. Stock performance 1 month: +28.14% 3 months: -35.71% Year-to-date: +17.25% 1 year: -53.78% Tesla stock price targets High: $436 Median$194 Low: $85 Average: $208.55 Tesla is the 13 th largest company in the world with a market cap of $455.91 billion.
Tesla’s total market cap has decreased by 52% in the past year. You can trade Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) and many other stocks from the NYSE, NASDAQ, HKEX, ASX, LSE and DE with GO Markets as a Share CFD. Sources: Tesla Inc., TradingView, MarketWatch, MetaTrader 5, WSJ, CompaniesMarketCap