China orders immediate ban on March fuel exports amid ongoing Middle East conflict: Report

China on Thursday ordered its refiners to immediately halt exports of refined fuel for March in a bid to manage potential domestic shortages triggered by the escalating Middle East conflict, Reuters reported citing sources.The directive was issued by the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) and covers shipments of gasoline, diesel and aviation fuel, four sources familiar with the matter told the news agency. The move comes as global oil prices surged again on Thursday climbing above $100 per barrel after Iranian attacks on shipping effectively disrupted traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.The strikes followed US and Israeli attacks on Iran that reportedly killed Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, intensifying the regional conflict.In response to rising energy market volatility, the International Energy Agency on Wednesday announced that its member countries would release 400 million barrels of oil from emergency reserves to help ease supply concerns linked to the war.The release is also the sixth such coordinated action since the organisation was created to respond to major supply disruptions following the 1973 oil crisis.Meanwhile, the United States department of energy also said that it would release 172 million barrels of crude oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.The department said the release would "beginning next week" and would "take approximately 120 days to deliver based on planned discharge rates," according to a post on X.The conflict, which began on February 28, is now approaching the two-week mark and involves nearly a dozen countries, raising fears of prolonged disruption to global energy supplies.This is a developing story.