Half-Open, Half-Closed Strait of Hormuz Baffles Oil Markets

Oil prices have continued to whipsaw since the U.S. and Iran announced last week signed a deal to make a deal as traffic through the Strait of Hormuz is anything but straight and not expected to normalize within days. Contradictory messaging from Iran and the United States on the navigability of the chokepoint have intensified during the weekend amid a difficult start to the (delayed) talks in Switzerland. Shippers and insurers, who were already very cautious about returning to the Persian Gulf and its key trade lane, are wary of an operating environment…