Oil Prices Plunge Amid Hopes for Hormuz Reopening Talks

Oil prices continued their downward trend on Thursday, extending losses for a fourth day in Brent crude and a fifth day in West Texas Intermediate. The drop comes as talks between Iran and Qatar may lead to the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, which has been disrupted by the Middle East war.

The Strait of Hormuz carried about one-fifth of global oil consumption before the US-Israeli war on Iran began on February 28. Since then, oil flows have dropped to a quarter of their pre-war level, according to ship-tracking data.

Qatar's prime minister is set to visit Iran on Thursday to relaunch diplomatic talks aimed at ending the conflict, which has lasted nearly six months.