G7 Agrees to Release 100 Million Barrels of Oil

The Group of Seven agreed on October 2 to release 100 million barrels of diesel and crude oil from emergency reserves over four months. The International Energy Agency will coordinate the effort, which includes a frontloaded release of diesel within 20 days to combat surging fuel prices linked to the Iran war.

President Donald Trump pressured allies to boost supplies to cool domestic fuel prices before the November 3 midterm elections. The Trump administration reportedly warned France and Germany to draw down inventories or risk a U.S. diesel export ban. France proposed a split of 50 million barrels of diesel from European reserves and 50 million barrels of crude from IEA members.

Following the announcement, Brent crude fell below $100 a barrel and U.S. oil prices dropped 5% during the session.