- WTI and Brent closed out their largest quarterly decline since 2020, per MarketWatch (https://www.marketwatch.com/bulletins/redirect/go?g=9e872260-9827-4307-bbc3-6ad0c464f275), as the market priced in a faster-than-expected rebound in Strait of Hormuz traffic and a coming OPEC+ supply increase.
- Russia separately pumped crude exports to a record during the quarter even as prices tumbled, per Bloomberg (https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-06-30/russia-boosts-crude-oil-exports-to-record-while-prices-tumble), reinforcing the supply-side glut.
- The drop offers a tailwind to consumer-discretionary names heading into Q3 but pressures shale producers and energy-heavy emerging markets.
Whats the current price and peak during hormuz?
I'll look up the current prices and peak levels for WTI and Brent crude oil during the Strait of Hormuz event. Let me first search for the relevant tickers.
USO is the United States Oil Fund (tracks near-month WTI futures). Let me load recent price data.
I have 18 months of USO data. Now I need to find the Hormuz-related spike peak. Based on context (Strait of Hormuz traffic rebound in Q2 2026, biggest quarterly drop since 2020), I expect the peak occurred earlier in 2026 (likely during the actual Hormuz disruption event). Let me compute the peak-to-date and recent quarterly drawdown.
Found it. Let me also pull the chart for visual context.
Here's a summary based on the USO ETF (United States Oil Fund), which tracks near-month WTI crude oil futures:
WTI (proxied via USO, near-month futures):
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Peak during Hormuz event (May 19, 2026) | $152.96 |
| Latest close (June 30, 2026) | $106.44 |
| Drawdown peak → latest | −30.4% |
A note on Brent: I wasn't able to pull a direct Brent crude ticker in the local database — the standard ticker search did not return a "BZ" / Brent futures symbol, and BNO (Brent crude ETF) isn't loaded. In normal conditions USO tracks WTI closely while Brent trades at a $3–$7 premium; if you'd like, I can run an intraday/closing comparison once a Brent symbol is added, but the directional read (peak in mid-May, ~30% collapse into quarter-end) will mirror the WTI picture shown above.
Want me to zoom in on the Q2 drawdown specifically, or line up related names (XLE, XLE components, energy-heavy EM ETFs like EEM/IFRS) for the consumer-discretionary vs. shale spread you mentioned?