Chinese supertankers exit Hormuz as Trump, Vance talk up Iran deal

Oil prices ease amid the latest comments from the White House, but experts warn they will remain high even after a deal.Two Chinese oil tankers have left the Strait of Hormuz after waiting in the Gulf for more than two months, as the United States president and vice president claim a deal to end the US-Israel war on Iran is imminent.Shipping data from LSEG and Kpler showed that the two supertankers – Chinese-flagged Yuan Gui Yang and Hong Kong-flagged Ocean Lily – navigated out of the waterway, carrying about 4 million barrels of crude.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4US extends sanctions waiver on Russian oil: Why it matterslist 2 of 4US Senate advances resolution to curb Trump’s power to wage war on Iranlist 3 of 4Putin meets Xi: Why Russia and China need each otherlist 4 of 4Trump says Xi assured him China would not send weapons to Iranend of listSouth Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun, meanwhile, told a parliamentary hearing in Seoul that a Korean crude vessel was also passing through the Strait on Wednesday.Yuan Gui Yang loaded 2 million barrels of Iraqi Basrah crude on February 27, a day before the US-Israel war on Iran started, while Ocean Lily loaded 1 million barrels each of Qatari al-Shaheen and Iraqi Basrah crude between late February and early March, data showed.Their exit from the strait came as Trump told US lawmakers the war on Iran will end “very quickly” and “hopefully … in a very nice manner”.US Vice President JD Vance said at a White House news briefing that Tehran-Washington negotiations are “in a pretty good spot here”.“There’s a lot of back-and-forth, a lot of good progress is being made, but we’re just going to keep on working at it,” Vance said.Trump had earlier threatened military action against Iran again, giving the country “two to three days” to make a deal and claiming he had been an hour away from ordering an attack before postponing it.The US president has repeatedly signalled that a deal was close and threatened heavy military action against Iran if it does not comply with US demands.High oil pricesOil prices briefly relaxed amid the positive comments from the White House, but experts warn prices are likely to remain elevated even if Washington and Tehran reach a deal.