Crude oil marginally appreciated on Thursday after it was reported that about 30 vessels had crossed the Strait of Hormuz, with Brent crude oil futures gaining 9 cents or 0.09 per cent to trade at $105.72 a barrel, and the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures expanding by 15 cents or 0.15 per cent to $101.17 a barrel.
Iranian state media reported that about 30 Chinese vessels were allowed safe passage by Iran through the Strait, which has been largely shut since the Iran war broke out at the end of February.
Before the report, a Chinese supertanker carrying 2 million barrels of Iraqi crude sailed through the contested waterway on Wednesday after being stranded in the Gulf for more than two months, while a Panama-flagged crude oil tanker managed by Japanese refining group Eneos had also passed.
Bloomberg also reported that the vessels were allowed to pass the Strait of Hormuz with the coordination of the Iranian authorities and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ navy, however, it added that it is yet unknown or unclear whether the US Navy side of the de facto blockade will also let them pass.
The move also follows formal requests by China’s foreign minister as well as its ambassador to Iran, with Iran reportedly agreeing based on safeguarding the two allies’ strategic partnership.
It also comes as President Donald Trump’s ongoing state visit to China, where he and President Xi Jinping agreed that the Strait of Hormuz must be open for the free flow of energy.
President Xi expressed interest in purchasing more US oil to reduce China’s dependence on the Strait of Hormuz, according to the White House. China, the world’s largest oil importer, is not a big buyer of US crude and has not imported any since May 2025 due to a 20 per cent import tariff imposed during the trade war.
Iran, a member of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), also appears to have tightened control over the strait, cutting deals with Iraq and Pakistan to ship oil and liquefied natural gas from the region.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said the global economy is clearly moving into a middle “adverse scenario,” which would see global real GDP growth falling to 2.5 per cent this year from 3.4 per cent growth in 2025, citing the Iran war as the cause.