Image for representation purposes only Ship traffic and oil exports through the vital Strait of Hormuz are steadily increasing, even though Iran and the U.S. are struggling to reach a peace agreement and reopen the critical maritime chokepoint. Oil prices have fallen by 4% after U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright confirmed that traffic through Hormuz has grown “very meaningfully” compared to recent weeks, adding that oil exports are up and will likely keep rising. Speaking at the Atlantic Council conference, Wright also mentioned that even after an agreement is finalised, it will take months for supply chains of oil and materials like sulphur or helium to normalise. The Strait of Hormuz is a narrow waterway between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. It handles one-fifth of the world’s oil and gas shipments. However, it has remained closed to commercial shipping since late February after the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran. The blockade has cut off around 20% of the world’s oil and gas supplies, creating shortages, increasing ship insurance costs, and triggering food insecurity risks and inflation. However, ships are recently sneaking past the Iranian as well as the U.S blockade at night after turning off their transponders to avoid being detected. The shipping disruptions and increase in energy prices have hurt economies across the globe. It has also created difficulties for U.S President Trump and the Republican Party as they prepare for the November midterm elections. Hence, Washington is heavily pushing for a peace agreement to fully reopen the strait. On Tuesday, global Brent oil prices dropped by over 3% to $91.34 a barrel. This happened after Iran and Israel paused attacks against each other after a request from President Trump, though both countries warned that fighting could start again. Wright also noted that oil prices didn’t soar higher during the war because global oil reserves, particularly in China, were much larger than expected. C