By midday, August NYMEX West Texas Intermediate crude dropped $2.80 to $70.40 a barrel, putting the contract on track for its lowest settlement since February 27. London-based ICE Brent followed a similar trajectory, sliding $3.05 to $74.05 a barrel. The decline in raw material costs rippled through refined products as well, with August NYMEX RBOB falling 8.35 cents to $2.7745 a gallon.

Data from ship-tracking firm Kpler indicates a significant rebound in transit volumes, with 27 tankers crossing the chokepoint on Monday and 14 on Tuesday. While this recovery marks a departure from the previous week's average of 12 vessels daily, analysts remain cautious; total volumes are still well below the 20-million-barrel-per-day baseline recorded before the conflict. Goldman Sachs, meanwhile, has adjusted its outlook on refined product margins, lowering fourth-quarter diesel forecasts for the U.S. and EU to $46 and $31 per barrel respectively. The firm expects refineries to favor middle distillate production over gasoline to capitalize on lingering supply shocks, even as the latest EIA report shows U.S. crude inventories continue to tighten, marking a drawdown in 10 of the past 11 weeks.