World leaders announced their most forceful response to the surge in oil prices since the war in Iran began at the end of last month, with Japanese and German officials saying they would release oil from their strategic reserves.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said Japan would begin releasing oil as early as next Monday. Less than an hour later, Germany’s economy minister, Katherina Reiche, said her country would also release oil.
International oil prices surged to nearly $120 a barrel on Monday after much of the flow of crude oil and natural gas through the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow shipping lane on Iran’s southern border, effectively halted. Prices have since fallen but they remain high at around $91 a barrel, up from less than $73 a barrel before the United States and Israel began attacking Iran on Feb. 28.
The announcements by Japan and Germany come ahead of a meeting of world leaders to discuss energy that will be hosted by President Emanuel Macron of France later Wednesday.
Rachel Reeves, Britain’s chancellor, said in Parliament on Wednesday that the country was “willing to play its part” in the release of strategic oil reserves to push down oil prices and ensure supply remains strong.
The International Energy Agency, which was formed by the United States and other industrialized countries after the energy crisis of the 1970s, estimates that its members have about 1.2 billion barrels of oil in reserve. That amounts to about 120 days of global oil demand.
Eshe Nelson contributed reporting.
