Hormuz reopening to release wave of oil supply, depress prices

By Nidhi Verma, Siyi Liu and Joyce Lee NEW DELHI/SINGAPORE, June 18 (Reuters) - Middle Eastern crude oil markets could come under further pressure if the Strait of Hormuz reopens on Friday following the U.S.-Iran interim deal, releasingmillions of barrels of oil stranded in the Middle East Gulf into global markets, industry executives said. The wave of supply comes after Gulf producers ramped up exports via ship-to-ship transfers off the United Arab Emirates and Oman this month, which depressed spot differentials for Middle East crude to discounts on Tuesday.