Crude prices fell below $78 a barrel on Thursday for the first time since the opening days of the Iran war, after the United States and Iran signed an interim agreement that lifts sanctions on Tehran’s oil exports and paves the way for the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.
Brent crude futures were down $1.59, or 2 percent, at $77.96 a barrel in early trading on June 18, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate fell $1.83, or 2.38 percent, to $74.96 a barrel.
The decline in oil prices came as traders anticipated the return of Iranian crude to global markets and the release of tens of millions of barrels stranded in the Persian Gulf amid Tehran’s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, which had sparked the largest energy supply disruption in modern history….