Oil Prices Slide Despite Iran-Oman Plan to Reopen Hormuz

Oil prices continued to decline on Wednesday, with Brent plummeting 3 percent to almost $86 per barrel and West Texas Intermediate dropping 2.8 percent to $80 per barrel.

The slump comes despite an Iran-Oman proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz through a joint initiative to clear away mines, but traders seem skeptical about the plan's viability due to Washington's repeated assertions that all mines have been removed from the waterway and every inch is being monitored.

Tim Waterer, chief market analyst at KCM, noted that Iran retains the ability to respond by disrupting shipping, which continues to keep a premium in the oil price.

The Strait of Hormuz has seen subdued traffic, with only five vessels transiting it in the previous session, down from seven on Monday and nine on Sunday, according to Kpler.