The International Energy Agency said member countries have agreed to complete the release of 100 million barrels of oil still outstanding from the March intervention aimed at easing rising fuel prices. After a meeting of its governing board on Thursday, the agency said countries will accelerate distribution of the remaining volumes, including 20 million barrels of diesel to be released as soon as possible. So far, they have tapped 330 million barrels out of the 400 million initially pledged in March, while the US Energy Department said further actions, with a focus on diesel, are under review and in progress.
Oil Market Developments
In market trading, West Texas Intermediate was up 2.08% on the day at $96.03. WTI, a US-sourced light, sweet crude distributed via the Cushing hub, is a benchmark grade alongside Brent and Dubai Crude. Prices are driven by supply and demand, global growth, geopolitical disruption and decisions by OPEC, while the US Dollar also influences dollar-denominated crude. Weekly inventory data from the American Petroleum Institute and the Energy Information Agency can move prices; the reports usually fall within 1% of each other 75% of the time, and the EIA’s figures are generally treated as more reliable.
