US says Hormuz oil flows higher than tracked

The United States government says a lot of oil is still moving through the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow waterway where many ships pass.

The US Energy Secretary says about eight to nine million barrels of oil pass through that strait every day.

He says tracking companies are getting the number wrong because most ships turn off their location signals and travel with military escorts.

That means the trackers simply cannot see them.

Before the conflict, the region sent about 20 million barrels of oil out every day; now it is sending about 14 to 15 million barrels.

Some of that oil is also moving through pipelines instead of the waterway.

So the world is getting about five to six million fewer barrels a day, but the US says the drop is smaller than many people believe.

Gas prices in America are still around four dollars a gallon, and the government hopes to bring them down to about three dollars someday.