The U.S.
Energy Information Administration is about to hand oil traders another thing to obsessively refresh between API inventory data drops and Strait of Hormuz headlines.
Starting Wednesday, the EIA will publish a new quarterly report that tracks global strategic petroleum reserves and energy flows through major shipping choke points, including through the world’s most nerve-wracking stretch of water right now the Strait of Hormuz.
The additional data will add to the hyperfixation that currently exists in the oil market on the fallout from the Iran war, where every tanker reroute, insurance spike, and export disruption has the potential to swing crude prices violently in either direction.
According to the EIA, the new datasets are designed to provide deeper visibility into how global oil and LNG supply chains are holding together or not under mounting geopolitical stress. “The timing of resumed oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz and the subsequent rate at which Middle Eastern producers restore output are key factors influencing EIA’s price forecasts through year end,” EIA Administrator Tristan Abbey said Tuesday, adding that the new data will offer “additional depth”.
