325m barrels of emergency oil released, says IEA

According to Dawn, the IEA said on Saturday that its members have already drawn 325 million barrels from strategic stockpiles, covering both crude and refined fuels. That volume amounts to more than 80 per cent of the March pledge, which was set at 400 million barrels.

Only one day earlier, G7 members had agreed on Friday to free up 100 million barrels of crude and diesel over the coming four months, a step meant to ease global supply worries stemming from the US-Iran war. It remains unclear whether those volumes are part of the 75 million barrels still outstanding from March or come on top of it.

Restricted diesel supply is one result of the Middle East war, in which Iran has been restricting vessel movement via the Strait of Hormuz in response to US and Israeli strikes. Ukrainian attacks on Russian refineries have also weighed on supply conditions, while the G7 ruled out diesel export bans among its own members. Separately, Trump has said Washington will refill its emergency oil stockpile shortly, though he gave no further detail.