The International Energy Agency: Strategic Petroleum Reserves Have Started to Be Released into the Market

People’s Financial News, March 20 — The International Energy Agency announced in a press release on the 19th that, following a unanimous decision by its member countries to release 400 million barrels of strategic petroleum reserves, the reserves have begun to be supplied to the market. The release will mainly consist of crude oil overall, with refined products primarily in Europe. Meanwhile, countries in the Americas will increase production to supplement market supply. The release details, including the specific distribution ratios of crude oil and refined products and the scale of supply from public reserves, may still be adjusted as countries further refine their respective shares. Due to escalating tensions in the Middle East, Brent crude oil futures in London briefly rose above $116 per barrel after opening on the 19th, and European natural gas and oil prices also saw significant increases in early trading. On the 11th, the International Energy Agency announced that 32 member countries agreed to release 400 million barrels of strategic petroleum reserves to address the global oil supply tightness caused by military strikes by the US and Israel on Iran. This is the largest coordinated release of oil reserves by the IEA to date. (CCTV News)