Ed Kalecki

President Trump has not discussed the search for a missing U.S.

airman, but did tell NBC the operation would not affect ongoing negotiations to end the war with Iran.

Bloomberg's Jamie Tarabay weighs in.

Bloomberg's Jamie Tarabay on Bloomberg this weekend.

Traffic through the vital Strait of Hormuz has begun picking up in the past week with a seven-day rolling average for transits on Friday reaching the highest since the war started.

More vessels are crossing, including those with no clear links to Iran or China, as nations negotiate with Tehran to get their ships through.

Transits over the past day were led by liquefied petroleum gas carriers, including one headed to India and others with Iranian affiliations.

The Iranian military says major oil producer Iraq is exempt from shipping restrictions in the Strait of Hormuz, a potentially significant move for global crude supplies.

In an Arabic-language video statement published by state-run Islamic Republic news agency, Iran's military spokesman said, "...brotherly Iraq is exempt from any restrictions we have imposed on the Strait of Hormuz."

The declaration has the potential to unleash as much as 3 million barrels a day of Iraqi oil cargoes.

An Iraqi official, however, cautioned that the usefulness of the exemption will depend on whether shipping companies are willing to risk entering the Strait to collect cargoes.

It's not immediately clear if the exemption will apply to all Iraqi oil or just the nation's tankers or indeed how it will be enforced.

The war in Iran isn't just affecting the price of oil.

The price of helium is also soaring, with helium spot prices double since Qatar, which produces more than a third of the world's supply, shut down the world's largest liquefied natural gas facility.

Cliff Cain is president of Pulsar Helium.

Pulsar helium President Cliff Cain on Bloomberg this weekend.

Helium is not just used for party balloons.

It's a critical component in everything from medical services and defense production to the creation of semiconductors as a cooling agent.

The U.S.

could help reboot peace talks between Ukraine and Russia soon.