Overview
- IEA members approved a record 400 million‑barrel emergency stock release, including 172 million from the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve, though delivery timelines remain unspecified.
- At least three more vessels were struck overnight, including two tankers set ablaze near Iraq’s Umm Qasr with one fatality and a container ship hit north of Jebel Ali, maritime alerts and officials said.
- Iraq suspended operations at its oil terminals after the attacks, and commercial transits through the Strait of Hormuz have largely halted, according to UKMTO and the IEA.
- Brent hovered near $100 after spiking toward $118 earlier in the week, as traders judged reserve drawdowns insufficient to counter ongoing risks to seaborne energy flows.
- The IEA projected an 8 million barrels‑per‑day drop in March supply as airlines cut flights, fertilizer shipments face disruption, and U.S. officials signal tanker escorts could begin later this month.