Oil shipments through and around the Strait of Hormuz remain well below pre-war levels but are still substantial enough to ease immediate pressure on global energy markets as the U.S. and Iran stay locked in a standoff. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said the seven-day average for oil leaving the strait was almost 9 million barrels per day, and that another 5 million-7 million barrels per day was moving through upgraded pipelines and export facilities, putting total flows at about 15 million barrels per day versus 20 million barrels exported daily before the war. The reduced but continuing flow helps explain why crude prices have fallen since last month’s spike after the ceasefire collapsed. The market is relying in part on dark transits (voyages with ship transponders turned off) and ship-to-ship transfers (moving cargo between vessels at sea), both of which make flows harder to track. A U.S. official told Axios that about 8 million barrels are leaving the Gulf each night through a southern lane in the Strait of Hormuz with help from the U.S. military. Oil market researcher Rory Johnston estimated average Hormuz volumes peaked closer to 7 million barrels per day over the past week, while acknowledging uncertainty because of untracked shipments; he also put pipeline exports at about 4 million barrels per day. The wider confrontation has become a test of endurance. The Trump administration is arguing that Iran has not fully shut the chokepoint, while Iran continues attacking some vessels even as non-Iranian Gulf producers including Iraq keep moving oil through covert routes. At the same time, the U.S. naval blockade is described as preventing Iran from exporting its own crude through Hormuz, intensifying pressure on Tehran’s finances. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that pressure would come from "economic isolation" alongside "the continued blockade in the Strait of Hormuz" to stop anything from going in or out of Iranian ports.