International oil prices are showing stabilizing trends, now trading close to the levels recorded before the onset of the Middle East crisis. Progress in negotiations between the US and Iran has helped ease market anxiety, with Brent crude futures trading near $72 per barrel on Friday (July 3rd).
These price levels reflect those recorded before the conflict began in late February, as commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz continues to recover, while progress in Washington-Tehran talks further bolsters stability across international energy markets. WTI crude is following the same pattern, trading below $69 per barrel.
Several key developments have contributed to the shift in market conditions, most notably the recovery of Saudi Arabian crude oil exports to approximately 90% of pre-war levels, as more tankers safely transit the critical waterway — signaling that oil supply is gradually returning to normal.
The UAE has also fully restored its oil exports to pre-war levels, routing tankers through the Strait of Hormuz while also relying on a pipeline that bypasses the chokepoint entirely. Meanwhile, President Donald Trump stated that negotiations with Iran are on a “good track,” following separate meetings held in Doha earlier in the week between Qatari and Pakistani mediators and both American and Iranian officials.
