#strait-of-hormuz

#strait-of-hormuz

Following reports of U.S. Navy strikes against targets in Iran, bitcoin dropped nearly $800 in over three hours on Monday night, slipping below $77,000 and wiping out roughly $20 billion in market capitalization. Late on Monday, bitcoin fell nearly $800 below $77,000 following reports of U.S. Navy military strikes in Iran. Brent crude spiked near $99 as maritime clashes disrupted energy markets and dented crypto capitalization.

Japan's benchmark stock index, the Nikkei 225, surged more than 3 percent in morning trading, hitting an all-time high after closing at a record peak on Friday. Oil prices have fallen sharply amid tentative hopes for a deal to end the US-Israel war on Iran. Brent crude, the primary benchmark for global oil prices, fell about 5 percent on Sunday as US President Donald Trump gave mixed signals on the prospects for a permanent end to the conflict.

Memorial Day weekend is arriving with the most expensive gasoline Americans have seen in four years, and the supply data suggests relief is not coming soon. CNBC energy reporter Pippa Stevens, speaking on Closing Bell Overtime on May 22, 2026, laid out a stark setup: gas prices are up more than 60% since the beginning of the year, and US gasoline stocks have now declined for 14 straight weeks. If shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz does not normalize, Stevens warned, "the national average could be heading towards $5 per gallon."

The crisis caused by the US-Israel war on Iran has affected the member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) at different levels. Oman has barely felt any shock as its ports and terminals continue operating as usual. Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have been able to reroute some oil exports through terminals in Yanbu and Fujairah, respectively, to bypass the Strait of Hormuz. Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar, on the other hand, have been practically cut off from the global market and are facing the prospect of economic contraction.

Trump has said that a Memorandum of Understanding in ceasefire talks to end the US-Israel war with Iran has been largely negotiated. Trump said on Saturday that the agreement will include reopening the Strait of Hormuz, adding that it remained subject to finalization by US and Iranian negotiators and various other countries.

Iran said it was focused on finalising a memorandum of understanding after its top officials met Asim Munir, the army chief of Pakistan. The Pakistani army said the negotiations had resulted in "encouraging" progress towards a final understanding. "An MOU is being fine-tuned," said a Pakistani security official who was briefed on Munir's visit.

West Texas Intermediate crude started 2026 at $57 a barrel and now trades near $112, a near-doubling driven by Iran-related tensions around the Strait of Hormuz and a sustained geopolitical risk premium on seaborne barrels. The three cleanest pure-play vehicles for that move are the United States Oil Fund ( NYSEARCA:USO), the United States Brent Oil Fund ( NYSEARCA:BNO), and the Invesco DB Oil Fund ( NYSEARCA:DBO). All three have roughly doubled along with the barrel, but the mechanics behind each one tell very different stories about where the energy trade goes from here.

A renewed push for a peace agreement involving Pakistan and Gulf states is under way to prevent the fragile cease-fire between Iran and the United States from collapsing, as mediators race to bridge major differences over sanctions, uranium enrichment, and the future of the Strait of Hormuz.