Oil prices continue steady decline after Trump declares Project Freedom a success

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(The Center Square) – The price of Brent crude oil continued a steady decline Thursday, a day after President Donald Trump announced that a secret U.S. military mission has been escorting commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz.

Brent crude closed Wednesday at $93.10 per barrel and $92.86 on Thursday, continuing a decline that has followed a four-year intraday high of $126.41 per barrel in April. The easing began in earnest in late May, when prices dropped from over $110 per barrel into the 90s.

On Thursday, the president posted to social media that over the past month, a secret U.S. military mission had successfully shepherded over 200 commercial ships carrying more than 100 million barrels of oil through the strait. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth later revealed that the “secret” mission was actually Project Freedom, which began on May 4 but Trump had said was paused because the U.S. was nearing a deal with Iran.

Trump called the mission “wildly successful,” even though prior to the start Operation Epic Fury – which the administration said concluded with a ceasefire – roughly 110 to 150 ships traversed the strait per day, according to the United Nations Trade and Development.

Hegseth echoed the president’s sentiments in comments to the media, saying that U.S. controls the strait, describing the American blockade there as “ironclad.”

“Our blockade has stopped almost 140 ships attempting to navigate in or out to Iranian ports. So, if our blockade is ironclad, which it is, and we were able to move commercial shipping in and out of the Strait of Hormuz, who controls the Strait of Hormuz? President Trump said it, and he's right,” Hegseth said.

Though Trump also expressed frustration Wednesday that Iran was taking “too long to negotiate a deal,” he called off some American strikes Thursday, saying that a final deal was pending.

“Discussions and final points have been, in both concept and great detail, approved by all parties involved, including the United States, Israel, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Turkey, Pakistan, Bahrain, Kuwait, Jordan, Egypt, and others,” the president wrote on social media. “The Naval Blockade will remain in full force and effect until this Transaction is finalized – Time and place of the signing to be announced shortly.”

Americans have felt the conflict’s cost at the pump, with prices surging to a national average of $4.52 in May and falling over the last month to $4.13 on Thursday.

Head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy Patrick De Haan warned in a June 8 blog post that if the strait remains “effectively closed,” the welcome reprieve may not last.

“Average gasoline prices declined in virtually every state over the last week as oil prices continued to fall, with crude approaching $90 per barrel and refiners ramping up output following seasonal maintenance,” De Haan said. “However, the future of prices remains murky. With the Strait of Hormuz remaining effectively closed, global oil supplies continue to tighten, and any further deterioration in the situation could send prices sharply higher.”

Secretary of Energy Chris Wright said Tuesday that it would likely be “many months” before the world fully recovers from events in the strait.

“Ships have been redirected, some supply chains have shifted,” he said at the 10th annual Global Energy Forum in Washington, D.C., according to the Atlantic Council. “So I think it’s many months to get back to normal flows of energy.”