LONDON: The International Energy Agency (IEA) said its member countries continue to hold more than 1 billion barrels of emergency oil stocks, despite carrying out the largest coordinated release of strategic petroleum reserves in history to help stabilise global energy markets.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, the agency said approximately 290 million barrels have already been released since the coordinated action was announced on March 11, while substantial emergency reserves remain available if market conditions require further intervention.
The IEA had agreed to release a record 400 million barrels from strategic stockpiles following a sharp surge in global crude oil prices triggered by the US-Israeli military conflict with Iran.
Oil prices edged higher on Tuesday as markets balanced reports of diplomatic mediation efforts with renewed US-Iran military exchanges and threats by Yemen’s Houthi movement to impose a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia.
“We estimate that Gulf exports are below their late-June highs but remain considerably above the levels recorded between early March and mid-June,” IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol said.
Meanwhile, on the demand side, the agency noted that China’s crude oil imports fell 41.3% in June, dropping to their lowest level in nearly a decade, highlighting weakening demand from the world’s largest oil importer.
