When the Strait of Hormuz closed at the end of February, the global oil market did not immediately collapse, but it was on borrowed time.
While the closure of the waterway effectively cut off 20% of the world’s fuel supplies, hundreds of tankers from the Middle East were already in transit and were weeks from reaching their destinations around the world.
As they arrived in ports, these shipments helped to absorb the shock of losing more than 14 million barrels per day of supplies from the Gulf.
Now, however, that cushion is vanishing.
According to the International Energy Agency's May 2026 Oil Market Report, global oil inventories fell by 129 million barrels in March and a further 117 million barrels in April.
