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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.
What is going on with Tesla’s share price? Tesla is now one of the world’s most recognisable brands and companies. A leader in technology and pioneer of the electric vehicle space.
The company has become a beacon of hope for the charge against climate change and move towards a more a carbon friendly future. At the centre of the company is its CEO, South African born billionaire, and visionary Elon Musk. Musk, who famously took over Twitter last year and has a list of other ventures including SpaceX, the Boring project and Starlink is a polarising figure with his controversial tweet comments and stances.
This at times has hurt Tesla’s share price and reputation. However, he has been bold and aggressive in his plans and hopes for Tesla. However, the company’s share price has taken a massive hit in the prior 18 month after peaking at $414.
The price has now fallen back to $117 and is down 71.5% from those highs. The reason for the drop is due to various reason, Musk’s own hubris, a tough environment for growth company’s and missed deadlines. However, is the current state a once in a lifetime opportunity to enter a generational company at a heavy discount or a sign of big change in fortunes for the company.
The numbers The company’s share price has been dropping rapidly as production has slowed worries over the company’s ability to keep up with demand or worse the slowing of demand has spooked the market to the ability for the company to continue to grow. Furthermore, concern has developed over whether its first mover advantage is starting to fall away. Other car manufacturers are beginning to develop and get to market their own electric vehicles threatening Tesla’s market share.
In saying this, Tesla still managed to sell 1.3 million vehicles last year short of the Musk’s 50% growth target. The company also manufactured 1.37 million cars for the 2022 calendar year. The company also increased its revenue to 74.836 billion dollars from 53.823 billion for the prior financial year.
Tesla also has a notoriously high Price/Earnings ratio even when compared to most other car manufacturers. Top car manufacturers such as Toyota, Volkswagen and Ford have much more modest PE ratios then Tesla has. Therefore, it is possible that the market is just valuing the company alongside the industry standard.
In addition, the company still has a market capitalisation of almost double that of Toyota and significantly higher than other manufacturers. Company PE Ratio BMW 3.11 Volkswagen 4.14 Toyota 9.19 Ford 5.70 Tesla 31.3 Price Action analysis The price chart for Tesla is not particularly encouraging. The price is at levels not seen in more than 2 and a half years.
The price is currently at $120 USD and has not yet made a bottom. In fact, the price has fallen below its 200-week moving average a bearish sign. It is resting on a support region at 110-120 dollars and if it fails its next support is at $65.
The volume of selling has been quite aggressive. At this stage until, there is some sort of support or buying volume it remains a more favorable short then long. However, if the price can find support at $110 it may bounce and begin a reversal.
Ultimately, Tesla remains an intriguing opportunity for traders and investors. With high volatility and a high growth runway, Tesla may provide a rare opportunity for a long time.
The USDJPY has dropped more than 400 pips in just a few minutes after the Bank of Japan brought adjusted its intervention criteria. The bank did not change its official rate, which are -0.10%, an extremely low figure compared to almost every other country. Japan has been a show of dovishness in a sea of hawkishness.
However, this latest move has been seen by the market as hawkish as the USDJPY dropped to its lowest levels since August and sent the equity market falling. The Bank of Japan committed to widening its yield curve control. Prior to the announcement the bank had allowed for movement of -0.25% to 0.25% before interviewing by way of buying and selling government bonds.
However, the latest move has seen the bank change the threshold to -0.5% to 0.5% before intervening. This allows the Bank of Japan to lessen its intervention going forward. The largest move was in the USDJPY which crashed below its 200-day moving average to fall by more than 400 pips.
On the 15-minute chart, the price is currently consolidating as it decides what to do next. A break of the lows at 133.1 may bring the next support at 131.245 into play. On the contrary, if the price can bounce at this level it may move to 134.5.
With the US trading session still to play out tonight there may be some trading opportunities that arise.
The US Dollar Index plummeted on Tuesday, December 13, breaking below a major support following a softer-than-expected inflation report for November. This led to investors scaling back expectations for future Federal Reserve rate increases. Since the initial drop after announcement was released, the price of the Dollar Index has recovered almost 80%.
Although this could simply be the pullback phase of a longer-term downtrend. A downtrend is an overall decrease in price, created by lower lows and lower highs which can clearly be seen on the daily time frame, marked out in the chart below. This week's CPI reading, combined with the technical analysis of the dollar index, suggests that the USD Index may continue to decline, with the next major support sitting around $102.25.
The dollar index is currently retracing and testing a resistance zone between $104.40 and $104.90.
The EUR look to be turning after an impressive run. The pair has risen by 12.57%since it hit the bottom in September. At the time the price fell to 0.9525.
This was the lowest level the EUR had reached since the year 2000. In September, Europe was facing extreme inflationary pressure and conversely the USD was rocketing towards record high levels. However, since this time the price recovered and now near the 50-week moving average.
After this great rebound it does seem as if the price is overextended and in need of a rest. As it can be seen on the weekly chart the candlesticks are showing an exhausted reverse hammer candlestick. It is categorised by a long wick and small body that has closed very near its open price.
The price is also struggling to break above the resistance level at 1.07 which doubles as the 50-week moving average. The failure to break above would likely confirm that the price is still very much trending down. This also opens a potential trading opportunity to go short.
With the price at resistance and potentially good risk reward till the next support all that is needed is a trigger for an entry. Looking at the daily chart for some ideas for an entry is useful. Here the price is currently in an upward channel.
If this channel were to breakdown, then it may indicate a breakdown of the price and an entry for the longer-term short trade. In addition, the RSI is still holding an upward trending pattern. Although it may also offer some confirmation of a break down.
The RSI is relatively overbought and if it breaks down from the trend may signal a reversal. With the Christmas holidays almost here, the volatility and liquidity may be a little lower but moving into 2023 may provide some good conditions for this trade to eventuate.
Gold rises to 6 months high as USD weakens The price of gold has risen as softer inflationary figures pushed the USD lower. The month/month CPI grew just 0.1% vs 0.3% expected, whilst the year/year figure grew by 7.1% vs 7.3% expected. Core CPI month/month rose by 0.2% vs 0.3%.
These figures sent the USD down, which provided a boost to most commodities including Gold with the market becoming more positive about a potential pivot from the Federal Reserve. With the FOMC meeting still to come later this week, and an expected 50 bps increase in the funds rate. However, anything lower or if the Fed releases a particular dovish announcement will further weaken the USD and potentially strengthen the price of Gold.
Technical Analysis The price of gold has broken out of a considerable consolidation. With recessionary pressure now seemingly trumping inflationary pressure, gold may be back in vogue as a transition of capital from riskier investments into gold pushes the price higher. Trading opportunities for gold may come from both long and short positions due to the overall ranging pattern.
Currently, the price has an area of ‘chop’ where the price is neither trending up or down. On the weekly chart, the price is testing the 50-week moving average which is a great measure of the mean of the price or the long-term average. This also coincides with the centre region of the range, which is at approximately USD $1850 per ounce, indicated by the red line on the daily chart.
Looking more closely at the daily chart, the RSI is consolidating and may breakout to the overbought zone before falling back down to a more manageable region. In addition, the 50-day moving average has swung back to in rising position. The global economic outlook still looks gloomy, particularly in relation to the effects or severity of a potential recession.
Therefore, gold may become more attractive to the market as growth continues to slow.
The US software and hardware manufacturer Oracle Corporation (NYSE: ORCL) announced its latest financial results after the market close in the US on Monday. The company posted solid results for the Fiscal 2023 Q2, beating analyst estimates for revenue and earnings per share (EPS). Revenue reported at $12.275 billion vs. $11.959 billion expected.
EPS at $1.21 per share for the quarter vs. the $1.17 per share estimate. "In Q2, Oracle's total revenue grew 25% in constant currency—exceeding the high end of our guidance by more than $200 million," CEO of the company, Safra Catz commented on the performance in the quarter. "That strong overall revenue growth was powered by our infrastructure and applications cloud businesses that grew 59% and 45% respectively, in constant currency. Fusion Cloud ERP grew 28% in constant currency, NetSuite Cloud ERP grew 29% in constant currency—each and every one of our strategic businesses delivered solid revenue growth in the quarter," Catz concluded. "Since the acquisition, Cerner has contributed to Oracle's growth—and Oracle has helped Cerner improve its technology," Chairman and CTO of Oracle, Larry Ellison said in a press release. "But we are just beginning our mission to modernize healthcare information systems. In the wake of the COVID pandemic, there is a worldwide sense of urgency to transform and improve national healthcare systems.
Our goals are ambitious: fully automate clinical trials to shorten the time it takes to deliver lifesaving new drugs to patients, enable doctors to easily access better information leading to better patient outcomes, and provide public health professionals with an early warning system that locates and identifies new pathogens in time to prevent the next pandemic. The scale of this opportunity is unprecedented—and so is the responsibility that goes along with it," Ellison added. The stock was down by around 1% at the market open on Tuesday at $80.27 a share.
Stock performance 1 month: +2.39% 3 months: +6.61% Year-to-date: -7.04% 1 year: -18.84% Oracle price targets B of A Securities: $95 Cowen & Co.: $96 Stifel: $75 Piper Sandler: $85 Keybanc: $94 Barclays: $81 Deutsche Bank: $120 Jefferies: $75 Berenberg: $72 BMO Capital: $90 Oracle is the 39 th largest company in the world with a market cap of $218.09 billion. You can trade Oracle Corporation (NYSE: ORCL) and many other stocks from the NYSE, NASDAQ, HKEX, ASX, LSE and DE with GO Markets as a Share CFD. Sources: Oracle Corporation, TradingView, MarketWatch, MetaTrader 5, Benzinga, CompaniesMarketCap