Overview
- IEA members approved a 400 million–barrel emergency release, including 172 million from the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve, with dispatches starting next week and rolling out over roughly 120 days.
- The agency reports flows through the Strait of Hormuz have fallen to a trickle and projects an 8 million barrels‑per‑day drop in March supply, calling the disruption the largest on record.
- Iraq suspended operations at its oil terminals after two tankers were set ablaze off Umm Qasr/Basra, killing at least one crew member, while Oman cleared its key export terminal and a container ship was hit near Jebel Ali.
- Brent rose back above $100 and U.S. crude topped $95 as investors sold equities and fuel prices climbed, reflecting expectations that stockpile releases cannot quickly replace lost seaborne flows.
- Iranian officials warned prices could reach $200 if security deteriorates, U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran continued, and Energy Secretary Chris Wright said Navy tanker escorts are not yet feasible though planning is underway.