US Energy Secretary Forecasts Oil, Gas Prices to Drop as Strait Traffic ‘Back to Normal’

‘Flows of oil and natural gas through the straits have already returned to normal,’ U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright says.

Energy Secretary Chris Wright testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington on April 16, 2026. Madalina Kilroy/The Epoch Times

U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright on Sunday said that commercial shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz is “back to normal” after the United States and Iran signed a preliminary agreement to open the waterway and end hostilities.

Wright further predicted that oil, gas, and energy prices will see a decline. During the conflict, Iran effectively shut down the Strait of Hormuz, a critical waterway that normally carries about a fifth of the world’s traded oil, causing prices to surge.