Iran Denies Trump's Hormuz Deal, Oil Jumps as Bitcoin Remains Unfazed
Iran has denied President Donald Trump's claim that a deal exists to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, the world's busiest oil route. The denial came after Trump posted on Truth Social early Sunday, stating that he had canceled a planned strike on Iran and claimed that a deal was in place to open the strait immediately. However, Iran's acting defense minister, Seyyed Majid Ibn Al-Reza, called Trump's words 'psychological warfare'.
The Strait of Hormuz is a narrow sea lane between Iran and Oman, and about 20 million barrels of oil pass through it every day. Only about 2.6 million barrels can go around it, through pipelines in Saudi Arabia and the UAE. The rest has nowhere else to go, which is why one denial can move this large market.
WTI crude, the US benchmark, closed at $84.67 on Friday and rose about 2.4% to trade near $86.79 after the denial. Bitcoin (BTC) barely moved, adding only 0.08% in 24 hours and sitting near $63,063.
The muted Bitcoin price reaction suggests that traders now ignore headlines that change nothing on the water. The link between oil prices and inflation is clear: June proved that US energy prices fell 5.7%, the steepest drop since April 2020, which cooled annual inflation to 3.5% from 4.2%. A lasting jump in oil would undo that progress and make Federal Reserve rate cuts harder to justify.