Oil prices starting to fall after reserve release decision, says Birol

Oil prices have begun to decline following the decision to release 100 million barrels of oil and fuel reserves, according to International Energy Agency (IEA) executive director Fatih Birol. The Group of Seven (G7) nations agreed on releasing 100 million barrels of diesel and crude oil from emergency reserves, a move that President Donald Trump welcomed as he seeks to alleviate surging fuel prices stemming from the Iran conflict.

The conflict triggered the largest emergency stock release in history in March, coordinated by the IEA.

Birol announced the release during a press meeting titled "Financing the Transformation: Turkey on the Road to COP31," hosted by Turkey's Banks Association Chairman Alpaslan Cakar. He stated that oil prices were starting to fall and hoped this step would be beneficial for the world and Turkey. Birol explained that world leaders appointed the IEA to coordinate oil supply, and the agency would finalize distribution once it consulted with member states, had sufficient reserves, and could release more if needed.

Oil prices dropped over $5 after the IEA's announcement of releasing oil and diesel into the market in the coming days. European gasoil futures dropped more than 4% on Friday following reports of discussions in Europe about additional diesel and crude stock releases, easing concerns over tight global energy supplies. The entire energy complex traded lower, led by gasoil and ultra-low sulfur diesel (ULSD), as EU countries debated releasing fuel and crude stockpiles to alleviate acute market tightness and prevent a potential US diesel export ban.