The International Energy Agency (IEA) announced this week that its member countries unanimously agreed to release a massive 400 million barrels of oil from their strategic reserves, an unprecedented move aimed at stabilizing soaring prices, but the market’s response was, frankly, a bit chilling. Despite this huge injection of potential supply, US crude oil prices, after a brief dip, actually climbed higher, passing $88 per barrel around midday.
According to NBC News, this collective action by the IEA, which includes 32 nations like the United States, Britain, and Japan, is the largest release ever from their combined emergency stockpiles, which total over 1.2 billion barrels. The goal is to ease the pressure on global energy prices, which have been rising since the strikes against Iran began on February 28.
