Stock dropped to decades of low United States oil reserves and it was hard to cope with the resumption of the American-Iraq conflict
On 9 July, the United States oil reserve system was far from ready to respond to the breakdown of the US-Iraq ceasefire and the resumption of the conflict. Following the announcement of a temporary ceasefire by President Trump in mid-June this year, international oil prices fell back to pre-war levels and tanker shipping in the Straits of Hormuz gradually resumed, but it will take a long time for crude oil stocks to fill the gap. Data from the United States Department of Energy indicate that, as of last Friday, there was an increase of 3 million barrels in the United States commercial crude oil stock, the first recovery after 10 consecutive weeks of decline. The situation in the energy market is likely to deteriorate further now that Trump has declared an end to the ceasefire. “The most worrying situation in the oil market is likely to come true later this year when stocks fall to the lowest operating threshold.” He said, “It is only by rising oil prices that demand in the market shrinks that supply and demand can rebalance. Once stocks are completely depleted, there will be no buffer resources available in the market.” The energy industry’s executives and analysts, who have not yet predicted a recurrence of the oil crisis this spring’s oil price breakthrough of $100 per barrel, warned of a serious threat to America’s energy security if shipping in the Straits of Hormuz were to be blocked again — about 20 per cent of the world’s oil trade passing through the Strait. If the United States were forced to continue to use strategic reserves of crude oil, then if the global oil supply was disrupted or if natural disasters such as hurricanes hit the fuel supply chain, the United States would lack sufficient reserves for emergency response; and oil prices would rise again, forcing consumers and buyers to reduce demand。
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