The entrance to the International Energy Agency (IEA) headquarters is pictured in Paris on March 11, 2026. (AFP/Ludovic Marin)
Countries are tapping into oil inventories and strategic reserves at a "record pace" due to the "unprecedented" supply disruptions caused by the Middle East war, the International Energy Agency said Wednesday.Global stocks were drawn down by a further 117 million barrels in April, the agency said, after a 129-million-barrel drawdown in March following the US and Israeli launch of attacks against Iran.
"Rapidly shrinking buffers amid continued disruptions may herald future price spikes ahead," the IEA warned in its monthly report.
Tehran has effectively closed the strategic Strait of Hormuz to Gulf oil and gas exports, sending prices soaring and forcing nations to scramble for alternative supplies.
The IEA said in March that it would provide global markets with 400 million barrels from the emergency stocks of IEA members, of which around 164 million barrels have already been drawn.
