Oil Prices Return to Prewar Levels After Four Months

Oil prices have fallen to levels not seen since before the war in Iran started, offering relief to households, businesses and governments around the world.The slide this week in the price of Brent crude oil, the international benchmark, which dropped below $72 a barrel on Friday, is also a significant psychological milestone.As fighting flared, the commodity served as a real-time barometer of the war’s toll on the global economy.Oil prices had soared as high as $118 a barrel in the early stages of the war, after Iran effectively blocked ships from passing through the Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping route for crude oil.

But they began to fall after efforts to negotiate a cease-fire and evacuate ships trapped in the Persian Gulf.American and Iranian officials agreed in mid-June to reopen the strait, through which about 20 percent of the global supply of oil flows.Traffic through the strait has picked up markedly in recent days.

Since the United States lifted its naval blockade last week, more than 330 vessels have passed through the strait, according to Kpler, a global maritime data firm.Only a handful of ships braved the passage each day during the height of the conflict, but the recent upticks in traffic have been, at most, about half of the typical daily volumes before the war.Iran’s military struck a container ship in the strait on Thursday, jolting markets and prompting U.S.

retaliatory strikes on Iran on Friday.It wasn’t clear how traders would react when oil markets reopen on Sunday.But the attacks were the latest setback for shipowners, which remain wary about operating in the gulf, after periodic demands from Iran to follow its preferred route and possibly pay fees for passage.

President Trump has insisted that there would be no tolls, insurance costs or charges for vessels traveling through the strait....