Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz slowed on Wednesday as shipowners largely stayed away from the key oil and gas chokepoint, citing a lack of clear signalling that it had reopened after a blockade during the Iran war. Kpler data showed six commodity vessels crossed the strait on Tuesday by 0258 GMT, down from nine the previous day and below the 10-day daily average of 11. The passage had handled about a fifth of global crude oil and liquefied natural gas shipments before the war, underscoring the potential impact on energy trade. The slowdown persisted even after U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that no talks were taking place with Iran and that the Strait of Hormuz was open, a position that conflicted with Iran’s claim that the route remained closed. Separate tracking data and a ship broker said two major Chinese shipping groups, which carried half of China’s Middle Eastern oil imports before the war, have kept tankers out of both Hormuz and Bab al-Mandeb since late July. In the Red Sea corridor, weekend commodity vessel transits through Bab al-Mandeb rose to 30 from 19 a week earlier, but no Saudi oil shipments were tracked after Yemeni Houthis declared a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia on July 20.