Strait of Hormuz shut — play the Suez Canal detour with Egyptian stocks
With the Strait of Hormuz essentially shut down due to the US-Iran conflict, ships are rerouting through Egypt's Suez Canal instead. Traffic there jumped by almost a third in April, pushing canal revenue to its highest level since early 2024.
Idea
The Strait of Hormuz is a critical chokepoint for global oil, and its near-closure is forcing massive rerouting. The Suez Canal is the primary alternative route, and it is already seeing a 30% surge in tanker traffic, driving revenue up significantly. Egypt, which controls the canal, stands to reap major financial benefits from this forced detour as the US-Iran conflict continues. As long as tensions remain high, this shipping bottleneck will keep cash flowing into Egyptian state coffers, making the country's stock market a rare pocket of strength amidst global uncertainty.