SINGAPORE - Global financial markets may have responded with a relief rally to the two-week ceasefire deal between the United States and Iran, but prices tied to the physical movement of oil and natural gas are still stuck around their recent peaks.

Energy experts and ship-tracking firms told The Straits Times that prompt or spot delivery prices of oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) remain largely unmoved as the ceasefire announced on April 7 (Washington time) has yet to ensure constraint-free navigation through the Strait of Hormuz,

which handled a fifth of the world’s crude and LNG supply before the conflict.

That means consumers across Asia, including those in Singapore, are unlikely to get substantial relief on petrol prices at the pump, electricity tariffs or plane tickets any time soon.

The effective closure of the waterway since the start of the war on Feb 28 has meant the loss of millions of barrels of oil and an equivalent amount of LNG -

most of which was meant for customers in Asia.

The global oil benchmark Brent

plunged over 13 per cent to below the US$100 per barrel level after the ceasefire was announced. But it reversed course and was up 3 per cent to $97.62 at about 9am on April 9.