The war in the Middle East is creating the largest supply disruption in the history of the global oil market, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA).
In its latest market report, the agency said global crude production has fallen by at least eight million barrels per day, with an additional two million barrels per day in petroleum products also shut off, News.Az reports, citing Al Jazeera.
The disruption comes as Iran’s pressure on regional supply routes forces Gulf producers to reduce output.
The IEA added that traffic through the Strait of Hormuz — a critical waterway through which roughly one-fifth of the world’s crude oil passes — has nearly halted amid Iranian attacks and threats against shipping in the area.
According to the report, flows through the strait are currently operating at less than 10 percent of pre-crisis levels, with “no signs of a de-escalation in hostilities or a clear timeline for a recovery in flows through the Strait.”