Oil prices pulled back Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2026, from more than one-month highs after traders weighed overnight U.S.-Iran strikes against fresh evidence that substantial crude is still moving through the Strait of Hormuz. By about 1:04 p.m. GMT, Brent futures were down 43 cents at $94.22 a barrel and U.S. West Texas Intermediate was down 71 cents, or 0.79%, at $89.51, according to Reuters.

Prices turned lower after U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said more than 17 million barrels of oil flowed through Hormuz on Monday — the highest daily volume through the chokepoint since the Iran war cut traffic, Reuters reported, citing Saxo Bank analyst Ole Hansen. Pre-war flows averaged about 20 million barrels a day. Earlier in the conflict Wright had put the seven-day average nearer 8–9 million barrels a day, so Monday's print marks a sharp recovery even if it is still short of normal.

🚨🇺🇸🇮🇷 U.S. Energy Sec. Wright:

“Over 17 million barrels of oil flowed through the Strait of Hormuz on ships on Monday."

Before the war began, normal flow through Hormuz averaged about 20 million barrels per day.

So that's actually getting near pre-war capacity. Wow.— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) September 2, 2026

The market is still pricing war risk. Brent had climbed from the mid-$80s toward nearly $97 as the United States and Iran traded blows around the strait, then faded once Wright's transit figure hit desks. Tehran has threatened tighter restrictions on Gulf oil exports even as Washington insists the waterway remains open. Tankers still face projectile risk; two VLCCs were struck near Hormuz late last week. High transit one day does not repeal geopolitics the next — it just keeps the "supply premium" from running away if the barrels keep moving.

Sources