Markets tracked Strait of Hormuz reopening prospects, alternative export routes and Russia's fuel export ban through January 2027.
US gasoline futures traded below $3.0 per gallon in early August, staying near a three-week low as traders watched developments in the Strait of Hormuz, a critical oil shipping chokepoint. President Donald Trump said his latest offer of talks was Tehran's "last chance" and repeated that he believed the route would fully reopen. Iran denied holding direct talks with the US, but said negotiations with Oman to increase traffic through the strait were making progress. Elsewhere, Gulf producers continued building alternative export routes, with Turkey and Iraq renewing a pipeline agreement and Kazakhstan restoring crude flows through the Caspian Pipeline Consortium after a temporary disruption. In Russia, the government extended its diesel and gasoline export ban through January 2027 as fuel shortages persisted amid continued Ukrainian strikes on major oil refineries.