International oil prices soar, approaching $100, US to release 172 million barrels of strategic petroleum reserves

On March 12, international oil prices opened higher and continued to rise, with both WTI and Brent crude oil prices surging over 8% at one point, with Brent touching $99 per barrel.

According to Xinhua News Agency, the U.S. Department of Energy announced on the 11th that it will release 172 million barrels of strategic petroleum reserves to address the rising oil prices caused by U.S. and Israeli airstrikes on Iran. Previously, several countries had considered utilizing their oil reserves. (See details)

According to the latest news from CCTV, on March 11 local time, U.S. President Trump stated that the U.S. is in a “favorable position” in the war against Iran and will focus on the situation in the Strait of Hormuz. Trump also said that the U.S. knows where Iran’s “secret organizations” are and that they are being closely monitored. Earlier this week, in an interview, Trump mentioned the Strait of Hormuz, saying he is “considering occupying it.”

Additionally, according to CCTV News, in the early hours of March 12 local time, officials at a southern Iraqi port reported that two foreign oil tankers were attacked and set on fire within Iraqi territorial waters. Saad Ma’an, head of the security media center under the Iraqi Joint Operations Command, confirmed in a statement early on the 12th that the attack resulted in one death, and 38 crew members have been rescued. The statement said the Iraqi government has deployed six ships to rescue the attacked crew, and search and rescue operations for the missing are ongoing. The attack on the two oil tankers infringed on Iraqi sovereignty.

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