Bessent says some ships are getting through the Strait of Hormuz

At least some ships are making it through the Strait of Hormuz, a key oil shipping lane near Iran, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Monday.

“We are seeing more and more…ships start to go through,” Bessent told CNBC. “The Iranian ships have been getting out already, and we let that happen to supply the rest of the world.”

“We’ve seen Indian ships go out now,” he continued. “We believe some Chinese ships have gone out.”

Bessent added that he is “fine” with Iranian ships getting out, saying, “We want the world to be well-supplied.”

Traffic through the strait has effectively halted since the start of the conflict, and Iran has threatened to attack ships that try to traverse it.

Other reports have also indicated that at least Iranian ships are making it through the strait.

However, much traffic through the strait is still expected to be halted. About a fifth of the world’s oil consumption goes through it on an average day. The ongoing conflict has squeezed supplies — and sent oil and gasoline prices skyrocketing.

International benchmark Brent Crude was trading at about $101 per barrel on Monday afternoon, up from approximately $72 per barrel before the conflict started.

The average national U.S. gasoline price was about $3.72 per gallon on Monday, up about 79 cents from a month ago.