Trump claims Hormuz is open as U.S. media cite shipping data

U.S. media mocked President Donald Trump’s insistence that the Strait of Hormuz has been opened and oil is flowing through it, while ship traffic, insurance prices and oil markets suggest otherwise. The Wall Street Journal cited CBS, which said only eight ships crossed on Tuesday, the lowest level since August 5, compared with an average of about 130 vessels per day. Commentators said war-risk insurance costs rising to about 10% of a ship’s value alone undermine claims of a return to normal. They added that Brent remained close to $90 despite higher U.S. inventories and lower demand forecasts. The report also quoted a Western diplomat saying Lebanon’s scene resembles the Hormuz case, asking whether to believe the presidential talk of progress in negotiations and imminent results or Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz’s statement that the army will remain in southern Lebanon.