Oil Prices Ease as IEA Speeds Up Stock Release Amid Iran War

By Adedapo Adesanya

Oil prices settled lower on Wednesday after the International Energy Agency (IEA) agreed to speed up ​the release of stocks and prioritise diesel in a bid to curb record-high fuel prices as the Iran war ‌squeezes global supplies.

Brent crude futures lost 38 cents or 0.38 per cent to trade at $100.20 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures declined by $1.16 or 1.3 per cent to $88.28 per barrel.

Countries with relations with the IEA have supported accelerating the release of oil stocks announced under the collective action agreed in March.

The IEA says that a full release of all stocks pledged in March but not yet deployed would bring approximately 100 million additional barrels to the market. Members support completing these releases as soon as possible.

IEA members also back prioritising the release of diesel stocks.

The organisation says its members still hold the equivalent of around 1.1 billion barrels in reserves, including more than 200 million barrels of diesel.

IEA members agree to continue assessing the situation and will review it again at the organization’s next scheduled Governing Board meeting next week.

This comes following pressure by the Donald Trump Administration on key European countries, especially France and Germany, to release diesel stocks and ease the soaring prices that are hurting the chances of the Republicans in the midterm elections in the US early next month.

Meanwhile, US crude inventories ​fell by 3.2 million barrels to 424.1 million barrels in the week ended October 2, according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA).

This comes after pressure by the Donald Trump Administration on key European countries, especially France and Germany, to release diesel stocks and ease the soaring prices that are hurting the chances of the Republicans in the midterm elections in the US early next month.

Prices could draw support from the approaching US storm and the continuing conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine, while there are reservations that recent rises in supply and exports from the Middle East are sustainable.

The US Gulf of Mexico produced 2.05 million barrels per day ​of crude oil ⁠in September, according to the EIA, accounting for around 15 per cent of the country’s total production.

About 11.2 million barrels of oil production could be lost across the Gulf through the duration of the storm, a marked increase from the 7.1 million barrels impacted by Tropical Storm Bertha in July.

Meanwhile, Yemen’s Houthis attacked Aden International Airport ​with missiles and drones as fighting between the Iran-aligned group and Saudi-backed government forces intensified.

Ukraine struck two Russian oil facilities while Russia pounded Ukraine with waves of missiles and drones, killing at least 15 people.