Oil Prices No Longer Follow Headlines

AI Summary

Oil benchmarks are on course for a fourth consecutive monthly gain despite reports that crude flows through the Strait of Hormuz have recovered to pre-war levels. The article argues that prices reflect broader market factors beyond the volume of barrels, with the war involving Iran complicating how oil prices are assessed.

A month ago, a series of news reports said oil flows out of Hormuz had recovered to pre-war levels, pushing oil prices lower. However, the rout did not last. Benchmarks are set for their fourth monthly gain in a row, and no amount of repeating that Gulf states are exporting even more oil than before the war can change that. Because barrels are not the whole story. “What is the price of oil? Eight months into the war with Iran, what should be a straightforward question has become surprisingly hard to answer,” JP Morgan’s head…