‘Can Reopen In Next Two Months’: Trump’s Adviser Hopes For Reconciliation On Strait Of Hormuz

US President Donald Trump’s economic adviser Kevin Hassett has predicted that the Strait of Hormuz could reopen within the next two months, with oil supplies returning to normal levels amid hopes of reconciliation between the United States and Iran.

While speaking to Fox Business Network, the director of the White House National Economic Council said that reopening the critical shipping waterway would lead to a sharp fall in energy prices.

“There’s going to be, you know, a rapid reduction in energy prices once we get the Strait open,” he told the news outlet.

“Once the energy prices start to come down, don’t forget that that will put downward pressure on inflation and…I think that the outlook for the Fed having the room to cut rates is going to be

very solid,” he added.

Before the US-Iran war began on February 28, more than 100 commercial vessels, mostly oil tankers, passed through the strait each day, according to Kpler data.

That number has since dropped to single digits. Shipping through one of the world’s most critical maritime chokepoints remains severely disrupted, with many vessels still avoiding the route amid lingering security concerns.

The continued hesitation by shipping companies and insurers has raised questions about what it will take to restore normal traffic through the narrow waterway that carries a large share of global oil and gas supplies.

Ship traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remains at less than 10% of normal levels, as Iran tightens control over the waterway by directing vessels through routes inside its territorial waters. The move has also raised the prospect of ships being asked to pay transit tolls, potentially in cryptocurrency, even as a fragile ceasefire continues to hold.

As per the data, just seven ships passed through the strait in the past 24 hours against a normal daily flow of around 140. These included one oil products tanker and six dry bulk carriers.