Oil Eases as Iraq Restarts Exports, but Global Supply Risks Remain Unresolved
🛢️ Oil prices pulled back in the March 18 session after Iraq reached a deal to restart Kirkuk crude flows to Turkey’s Ceyhan port. The move is positive for Iraq because it restores an alternative export route outside Hormuz while the regional conflict is still ongoing.
📉 Downside pressure increased after API reported a 6.56 million-barrel build in U.S. crude inventories, far above market expectations. Brent slipped back toward $103 per barrel, while WTI dropped below $95 after the sharp rally seen in the previous session.
⚖️ Even so, the restored supply remains small compared with the scale of disruptions across the region. Initial volumes are only around 100,000 barrels per day, while southern Iraq’s output is still far below pre-crisis levels.
🌍 That leaves the market reacting more as a short-term cooling move than a real shift in the broader story. As long as Hormuz remains a key bottleneck for global oil flows, oil prices are likely to stay elevated and highly sensitive to any new developments in the Middle East.