ISTANBUL, March 12 — Oil prices climbed above US$101 a barrel Thursday, despite the International Energy Agency (IEA) announcing a unanimous agreement among its 32 member countries to release 400 million barrels of oil from their emergency reserves, Anadolu Ajansi reported, quoting Al Jazeera.
Futures for Brent crude, the international benchmark, jumped nearly 20 per cent as the news failed to ease concerns over prolonged disruptions to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
Brent was trading near US$101 a barrel as of 0200GMT, up more than 38 per cent from levels seen before the start of the Iran war.
Member countries of the IEA agreed to release 400 million barrels of oil from their strategic reserves, the largest coordinated release in history, to calm energy markets shaken by the war in the Middle East, the head of the energy watchdog announced Wednesday.
