The member countries of the International Energy Agency (IEA), which include the United States, agreed this week to use their oil reserves to dampen price increases in the wake of the Iran war. On Wednesday, US President Donald Trump said the country would use "a little bit" of its reserves.
Now it is clear what that amount means: 172 million barrels.
Despite the announcement from the US, oil prices rose again overnight on Thursday. At 4 a.m., WTI was around $95 per barrel and Brent around $100 per barrel.
The US Strategic Petroleum Reserve, before the withdrawal, contained about 415 million barrels, which is just over half of its total storage capacity. IEA members have agreed to withdraw a total of 400 million barrels of crude oil from their reserves.
The US withdrawal will be implemented over 120 days.
