The Wall Street Journal reports the Trump administration says large volumes of
oil are transiting the Strait of Hormuz, but commercial trackers show far lower
flows. U.S. Energy Secretary Wright told reporters last week the U.S. military
assisted movement of more than 15 mln barrels of crude and products through the
waterway on Tuesday and said the seven-day average export flow exceeded 8.0 mln
b/d; he had earlier cited a seven-day average near 9.0 mln b/d. Commercial
vessel-tracking firms estimate about 0.2–0.6 mln b/d, and industry loading data
for Gulf shipments to buyers do not corroborate the U.S. figures.
