The Council of Ministers will approve the discharge of 11.5 million barrels by Spain: The barrel of oil exceeds 100 {dollars} although nations start to finalize the discharge of strategic reserves | Economy | EUROtoday

There are hardly any current photos of Iran’s new supreme chief, Mojtaba Khamenei. He is understood to be alive and lively, though “slightly injured.” But it’s one thing that should be believed, as in his message learn on Iranian tv. For now, the promise of revenge and the intention to maintain the Strait of Hormuz closed have had extra impact on the markets than the announcement by the International Energy Agency (IEA) that its members are going to launch 400 million barrels of oil. The EU nations wished to proceed with the bulletins by speaking this afternoon to the group, of which they’re members, the plans of the Member States: Italy, for instance, has indicated that there will probably be 10 million barrels, that are added to the 11.5 million of Spain or the 19.5 million of Germany. They are all a part of that historic liberation superior on Wednesday that has not prevented the barrel of brentthe reference within the European markets, has returned this Thursday to the extent of 100 {dollars} that it had misplaced days in the past.

The completion of strategic reserve launch plans is important to persuade the markets. It will not be solely essential for brokers who function in gross sales to have that quantity in thoughts. It’s additionally about understanding when and the place these barrels will hit the market. Spain, for instance, has specified that there are 11.5 million, which will probably be launched over 90 days and that the choice has to undergo the Council of Ministers. France plans to launch over 14.5 million; Netherlands, just below 5.4 million; and Austria, 2.3 million. The European Commission spokesperson for vitality affairs, Anna Kaisa-Itkonen, introduced this Thursday that the member states have debated the choice adopted and would transmit their plans in the course of the day.

The European knowledge is added to these arriving from the United States, 172 million, or from Japan, 80 million. And there are nations which are identified to mean to affix the motion, not in useless the IEA choice was made unanimously, however they haven’t but given particulars: Australia, South Korea, the United Kingdom or the three Baltic republics (Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia).

In Brussels, few conversations nowadays about what is occurring in Iran go away apart what occurred in 2022, when Russia invaded Ukraine and got here very near strangling the EU’s fossil gas provide. Aware of this, the Commission has highlighted that there have been two conferences of the oil and gasoline monitoring teams. The conclusion is that “there are no concerns about security of supply,” mentioned the spokesperson for the EU Executive. “However, we will continue to monitor the situation and the impact on the EU in view of a potential prolonged disruption.” [del tráfico marítimo en el estrecho de Ormuz]”, he continued. This scenario of scarcity—and lack of supply—was a real risk four years ago, and caused European countries to have to adopt energy-saving measures.

But now the key—and the big problem facing Europe—is prices. The historic liberalization of oil reserves seeks to alleviate pressure on demand. However, no matter how spectacular the figures published by the IEA are, calm is not coming. The 400 million barrels announced are the equivalent of what crossed the Strait of Hormuz for 20 days. And the numbers are missing an important element: when will the bombings stop?

About this, there is no certainty. Listening to the words of the president of the United States, Donald Trump, sheds little light on this mystery. Last Monday he said that the war was “almost over” and that greatly eased the price of oil and gas. But the Republican’s statements are erratic: since the bombings began he has said that they could last “a couple of days”; four weeks or five; and even “whatever it takes.”

On the other hand, from the Iranian side, the idea conveyed is clear and firm. Its new leader, in the first message he has sent since he was elected, has maintained the same line that other officials of the regime and the Revolutionary Guard have reached by indicating that the Strait of Hormuz will continue to be closed to “put strain on the enemies.” The Ayatollah regime thus makes it clear that it is going to use its key strategic position – 20% of the oil and liquefied natural gas consumed around the world circulates daily through this sea route – to tighten the ring on fuel prices and make the United States and Israel feel pressure from other countries to end the war.

And given this, the costs don’t relax. After listening to Khamenei, oil brent It has exceeded $100 and has remained round that stage for nearly all the day, with a day by day improve that has reached near 10%. On the opposite hand, the gasoline that’s traded within the Netherlands and serves as a European reference, the so-called TTF, has had a extra steady conduct: the megawatt hour has been round 51 euros, with a rise of simply 0.6% in comparison with the day before today.

https://elpais.com/economia/2026-03-12/el-barril-de-petroleo-supera-los-100-dolares-pese-a-que-los-paises-comienzan-a-concretar-la-liberacion-de-reservas-estrategicas.html