Hormuz Strait mined and disruptions could last months — load up on big oil stocks
The Strait of Hormuz — one of the world's most important oil shipping routes — has been mined by Iran, and oil industry experts now believe supply disruptions will persist through the end of the year even if the waterway reopens soon.
Idea
The Strait of Hormuz handles roughly a fifth of the world's daily oil supply, and now Iran has mined large parts of it. Experts are telling OPEC+ that even if the strait reopens, the supply disruption will drag on through the end of 2026. That's a sustained headwind for oil supply that should keep prices elevated for months. When oil prices stay high, the biggest producers — companies like ExxonMobil and Chevron — rake in extra cash and their shares tend to climb. An exchange-traded fund like XLE lets you spread a bet across all the major US oil companies at once, reducing the risk of any single company having a blowout.