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WTI slips below $79 after failing again at the $80 level
WTI is down about 1.0%, even as tensions around the Strait of Hormuz and shipping toll proposals lift risk premiums, while a loosening supply outlook keeps capping rallies.
West Texas Intermediate crude is easing, down about 1.0% to just below $79.00, after a third straight failure to break and hold above $80.00. FXStreet notes that the 50-day exponential moving average sits just above the $80 handle and has not given way, with momentum indicators still pointing higher into the ceiling.
The latest escalation includes a US strike on a tanker near Iran's main export terminal, and a return of a naval blockade of Iranian ports, after which Tehran fired at American bases in Kuwait and Jordan. Washington has also floated a 20% transit toll for protected cargo through the Strait of Hormuz and revoked a waiver that had allowed Iran to export crude and petrochemicals, yet the price has still not managed to clear $80.
FXStreet links the inability to sustain $80 to a supply backdrop that remains less tight than the headline risk implies. The article cites US production near a record 13.5 million barrels per day, rising output in Brazil, Guyana, and Canada, and forecasts for a surplus extending into late 2026, with demand growth of about 1.2 million barrels per day.
The piece also highlights that Iranian output climbed even through ceasefire weeks as sanctions relief supported exports, meaning barrels lost during renewed tensions may have already been discounted. It adds that OPEC+ discipline has weakened since the United Arab Emirates left the group in April and that record spare capacity concentrated in Saudi Arabia and neighboring Gulf producers has limited upside during prior rallies.
Latest closeWTI crude $79.00 ▼0.8%