Brent crude climbed above $100 a barrel while Asian equities and Wall Street futures moved lower, showing how quickly the energy shock is spilling into broader markets. MSCI’s Asia-Pacific index outside Japan fell 1.6%, Japan’s Nikkei lost 1.5%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng slid 1.2%, and U.S. and European stock-index futures also weakened.
The market move followed reports that six vessels were attacked in Gulf waters and the Strait of Hormuz, including two fuel tankers in Iraqi waters that officials said were hit by explosive-laden Iranian boats. Iraqi authorities said oil port operations had stopped, adding to disruption along a route that normally carries about a fifth of the world’s oil.
Why oil prices kept climbing after the reserve release
The International Energy Agency said its 32 member countries will make 400 million barrels of emergency oil stocks available to the market, the largest coordinated release in the agency’s history. The move was designed to cool a fast-moving supply panic, but traders are betting it cannot fully offset an extended interruption in Gulf exports.
Washington will provide the biggest share. The U.S. Department of Energy said 172 million barrels will be released from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve beginning next week, with deliveries expected to take about 120 days. That lag helps explain why the announcement failed to cap the rally in crude.
Logistics are making the shock harder to contain. Earlier this month, supertanker rates in the region jumped to record levels as shipowners pulled back and Hormuz traffic slowed sharply. Even when governments release emergency barrels, getting those cargoes to refiners fast enough to calm the market is a separate problem.
Oil prices are reacting to a familiar pattern, but on a bigger scale
Energy markets have seen smaller versions of this pattern before. In 2019, oil rose after tanker attacks near Iran, though the move was muted by weak demand worries. In 2022, the IEA says it coordinated more than 240 million barrels of emergency oil releases over the course of the year after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which set the previous crisis benchmark for coordinated intervention.
The shipping side also has a recent precedent. In 2024, attacks in the Red Sea pushed 47% more crude and fuel cargoes around Africa, raising freight costs and stretching delivery times. The current Hormuz disruption matters more to global oil supply, which helps explain why the market response has been sharper and why the reserve release has so far offered only limited relief.
For investors, the message is straightforward: emergency reserves can buy time, but they cannot reopen ports, restore shipping confidence or reverse risk premiums overnight. Until Gulf traffic stabilizes and export terminals resume normal operations, oil prices are likely to remain the clearest real-time gauge of whether the crisis is easing or worsening.
