The economic highlight of the coming week will be the May jobs report set for release on Friday.
Oil tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz may not return to prewar levels even if the U.S. and Iran reach a deal. Ship traffic in the Red Sea, for example, plummeted in early 2024 due to Houthi militant attacks.
Guyana was already the world's fastest growing economy before the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran drove up oil prices. Now, the tiny Caribbean nation of nearly 1 million people will reap an even bigger bonanza as the conflict reshapes global energy markets.
Brent crude fell 19% in May, its sharpest monthly drop since 2020.
Prices at gas pumps are starting to sink and oil is on track to drop 20% in May as investors remain optimistic that a ceasefire deal to end the Iran war is near.
This week executives from both Exxon and Chevron, two of the largest oil producers in the United States came out and said oil could hit 160 dollars within weeks. Senior Vice President of Exxon Neil Chapman warned at the Bernstein conference that inventory levels of crude and gasoline are at historic lows and are reaching their operational floor.
Oil prices fell Friday after President Donald Trump said he is meeting in the White House Situation Room to make a final determination about a deal with Iran.
Reports of an imminent ceasefire in the Iran conflict are running well ahead of reality, RBC Capital Markets has warned, as global oil inventories continue to drain at a pace that may be more severe than headline figures suggest. The bank's commodity strategy team says that despite widespread speculation about a 60-day memorandum of understanding (MOU) that would reopen the Strait of Hormuz to unrestricted navigation, the situation on the ground remains deeply uncertain.
Analysts have increased their 2026 oil price forecasts for the third time since the Iran war began at the end of February, as they cite a months-long timeline for energy flows to normalise to pre-conflict levels, a monthly Reuters poll showed on Friday.
Oil prices pulled back on renewed optimism that the U.S and Iran were closing in on a deal that would reopen the Strait of Hormuz, but U.S. stock futures were largely flat.
World stocks stood at record highs on Friday and oil futures eyed the steepest weekly drop for nearly two months as traders waited for details on a potential deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and extend the U.S.-Iran ceasefire.
Oil fell in early Asian trade on optimism over a potential U.S.-Iran deal that could ease supply-disruption concerns.