Oil prices dropped on hopes the Middle East supply crunch is easing, good news for drivers and stocks but still fragile.

• Saudi Arabia says it will restart a key pipeline this week after Houthi rebels attacked it, and that attack was the main reason prices jumped over the past two weeks.
• Iran's foreign minister is in New York, and Iran says it can reopen the Strait of Hormuz within a week if the US eases military pressure.
• Washington claims most oil flows have resumed, but independent estimates put traffic through the strait at only a third of pre-war levels, with oil still near $100 a barrel.
• The market is only coping because countries are draining emergency oil reserves and demand in China has fallen — neither can last.
• Britain is sending RAF refueling planes to help Saudi Arabia fight the Houthis, risking deeper involvement in the war.

Outlook: A quick reopening of the strait would push oil lower, but past false alarms and the risk of more attacks mean prices could snap back fast.