Wright says amount of oil through the Strait of Hormuz will ‘continue to rise’

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Energy Secretary Chris Wright predicted Tuesday that the amount oil moving through the Strait of Hormuz will “continue to rise” as the U.S. and Iran work to end the 100-plus day conflict.

During an Atlantic Council event, Wright said that traffic through the strait, a key oil shipping chokepoint, was “rising very meaningfully.”

He added that oil exported through the strait will “continue to rise.”

Oil prices fell Tuesday as the Trump administration projected optimism about the amount passing the strait.

U.S. Benchmark WTI was trading at about $88 per barrel as of Tuesday afternoon, down from as high as nearly $95 on Monday afternoon. International benchmark Brent crude was trading at about $92 per barrel, down from as high as almost $98 the day prior.

President Trump made similar statements on Monday night.

“A lot of oil’s coming out of the Hormuz Strait,” he told reporters. “A lot of it is coming out and as you notice the price is not very high, relatively speaking.”

An analysis from MarineTraffic said that as of Monday, traffic remained at “historic lows,” though it said there were five confirmed crossings.

Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis for GasBuddy said in a post on X that the latest oil price dip means the national average price of gasoline “has a renewed chance of falling below $4/gal before July 4.”

On Tuesday, the national average price was about $4.16 per gallon.

But on Tuesday afternoon, prices did rise a bit as Trump also said Iran shot down a U.S. helicopter and that the U.S. needed to respond.

Meanwhile, during his remarks at the Atlantic Council, Wright also indicated that U.S. companies are looking to invest in Venezuelan oil after the U.S. incursion there.

“Many people are looking that are new. Incumbents that were there already have grown their investments in Venezuela and are growing their production quite rapidly,” he said.

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Atlantic Council

Chris Wright

Energy Secretary Chris Wright

Iran

Iran

Iran conflict

Iran War

President Trump

Strait of Hormuz

Strait of Hormuz

U.S.

Venezuela

war with iran

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