(March 12): US President Donald Trump said the massive release of emergency oil reserves approved by the International Energy Agency (IEA) would ease energy price pressures while the US seeks to “finish the job” in its campaign against Iran. The confirmation of the emergency oil release did little to calm volatile markets. “They didn’t expect anything like this.”Earlier on Wednesday, the IEA approved its largest-ever release of emergency oil reserves, a move to curb surging prices while the critical waterway remains effectively closed. The IEA agreed to discharge 400 million barrels from emergency oil reserves, more than double the 182 million barrels member countries released after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022. Escalating rhetoric from global leaders over the war in Iran outweighed an emergency release of crude reserves by wealthy nations.

Source: The Edge Markets March 11, 2026 22:44 UTC