GasBuddy analyst Patrick De Haan has predicted that it would take more than a year and a half for countries to refill oil inventories if the Strait of Hormuz reopens following its closure amid the U.S., Israel and Iran war.
78 Weeks To Refill Oil Inventories
In a post on X on Monday, De Haan shared that it “loosely” takes a week for countries to refill oil inventories for every day the Strait of Hormuz remains closed.
“We’re now at 78 days- so ~78 weeks would put us roughly at November, 2027 to see global oil inventories fully recover,” De Haan said in the post.
De Haan’s Gas Prediction
De Haan had earlier predicted that gas prices in the U.S. wouldn’t reach $6-7/gallon by the end of this week despite uncertainty around the situation in the Middle East. “I definitely don’t see this remotely possible at all,” he said in a post on X.
The national average price for a gallon of gas was $4.515 on Monday, illustrating a slight uptick, according to data collected by the American Automobile Association (AAA). On the diesel front, prices declined slightly, with the current average price being $5.631/gallon on Monday. California still commanded the highest average price, with gas prices over $6.151/gallon.
Trump’s Iran Comments
Recently, President Donald Trump‘s comments about Iran facing a ticking clock were in the headlines as the U.S. rejected a peace proposal by the Iranian government. “For Iran, the Clock is Ticking, and they better get moving, FAST, or there won’t be anything left of them,” he said via a Truth Social post.
Trump doubled down on his comments, saying that the conflict would end only when the Iranian government issued “Documents of Surrender” and admitted their defeat to “the great power and force of the magnificent U.S.A.,” as Iranian state media reported that Tehran sought a multi-stage truce and long-term nuclear freeze.
US Issues Oil Waiver
As the situation escalates, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent issued a 30-day general license for countries facing oil crunches to buy Russian seaborne oil. Bessent touted the move as something that would “provide additional flexibility” in the crude oil supply chain.
The West Texas Intermediate (WTI) declined 0.87% to $107.7/barrel at the time of writing this article, while Brent crude also declined 2.02% to $109.8/barrel at press time. The United States Oil Fund (NYSE:USO), an exchange-traded fund (ETF) that tracks the WTI crude, surged 0.54% to $150.81 during the after-hours trading on Monday.
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