IMF says prices have eased since US-Iran agreement but Gulf trade remains disrupted The International Monetary Fund says energy and commodity prices have fallen since the United States and Iran agreed to halt hostilities and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, but warned that Gulf trade flows will take time to return to normal. IMF spokesperson Julie Kozack said the fund would decide in its 8 July World Economic Outlook update whether to maintain the three growth scenarios it issued in April, which were based on possible outcomes of the US-Israeli war on Iran. In May, as the Strait of Hormuz remained closed and oil prices stayed above $100 a barrel, Kozack said the global economy was moving away from the more stable "reference forecast" towards an "adverse scenario" of 2.5 percent growth.