Gulf crisis: US to release 172 million barrels of oil from strategic reserve to reduce prices amid Iran war

The United States is set to release 172 million barrels of oil from strategic reserve, the energy department said on Thursday. This came after US President Donald Trump said that he would tap into strategic reserves to reduce prices amid Iran war."Right now we'll reduce it a little bit and that brings the prices down," Trump said in an interview with Local 12 television, when asked if he was going to tap the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve.The International Energy Agency’s announcement that member countries would release a record amount of oil from strategic reserves failed to calm supply fears, as crude prices climbed and global equities largely declined. The move followed warnings from Iran that it was prepared for a prolonged war of attrition that could “destroy” the global economy, after it fired on two commercial ships and threatened vessels belonging to the United States and its allies.The agency said member states would release about 400 million barrels of oil from emergency reserves to offset supply disruptions linked to the conflict and the impact on shipments passing through the Strait of Hormuz.Tehran has been retaliating against US and Israeli strikes launched on February 28 by targeting sites across the oil-rich Gulf and effectively shutting down the strategic waterway, through which nearly one-fifth of the world’s oil normally passes to global markets.Despite the IEA’s move, oil prices surged by more than four percent.