Crude plunged on Friday, cementing a near 11% weekly collapse as Saudi Aramco restarted Gulf terminal loadings and persistent Strait of Hormuz transit overwhelmed lagging Chinese demand and lingering Iranian maritime threats.
Brent crude plunged 4.3% to pre-war lows as the rapid release of 20 million barrels through the Strait of Hormuz flooded the physical market, shifting pricing into contango and overwhelming the bullish impact of historically low US inventories.