Overview
- Reports of resumed U.S.–Iran negotiations drove markets lower on Friday, July 10, with Brent trading near $76.01 per barrel and WTI near $71.41 per barrel.
- Spanish average retail fuel prices moved lower in line with futures, with gasoline around €1.537 per litre and diesel about €1.541 per litre on July 10.
- The International Energy Agency said flows through the Strait of Hormuz surged in June after the earlier ceasefire, but warned renewed fighting could quickly cut supplies and reverse price gains.
- Recent attacks in the region and Iran’s insistence on control of the Strait keep upside risk alive, with reporting of at least 14 deaths in recent strikes increasing uncertainty over shipping through the Gulf.
- Consumers and transport companies may see only temporary relief because the Strait of Hormuz is a strategic chokepoint for roughly one‑fifth of global oil flows, so fresh escalation would likely push benchmarks and pump prices back up.