Oil prices fell sharply on Friday after Iran declared the Strait of Hormuz fully open to commercial shipping, triggering a broad rally across global financial markets and offering the clearest sign yet that the economic damage from the US-Iran war may be easing. Benchmark Brent crude dropped more than 11% to around $88–89 a barrel, while US crude fell a similar amount to roughly $81–83 a barrel. Though both remain well above the approximately $70 level recorded before the conflict began — and far below the near-$120 highs seen in late March — the scale of Friday's move reflects how much tension had been priced into energy markets.

The Strait of Hormuz, a narrow waterway between Iran and Oman connecting the Persian Gulf to the open ocean, is one of the world's most critical chokepoints for oil and gas flows. Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi announced on social media that the strait was