Executive Director of the International Energy Agency (IEA) Fatih Birol arrives at the Elysee Palace to attend a dinner held on the occasion of the Civil Nuclear Summit in Paris on March 10, 2026.
| Photo Credit: AFP
Crude prices sank and equities mostly rose on Tuesday (March 10, 2026) as oil-importing countries discussed a possible stockpile release while monitoring the Strait of Hormuz, a key petroleum waterway emptied of traffic as the war in West Asia rages.
International oil benchmark, Brent North Sea crude, plunged 11.3% to $87.80 a barrel, a day after it neared $120.
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The drop in oil prices gathered pace as member states of the International Energy Agency (IEA) met for crisis talks to assess “the current security of supply” and the potential release of emergency stocks.
In a statement following a Paris meeting of G7 energy ministers, IEA executive director Fatih Birol said he was “in close contact” with energy ministers from key energy producers and consumers regarding the situation.
Oil prices slid to session lows near 1730 GMT after U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said the U.S. Navy had escorted a tanker through the Strait of Hormuz, but Wright quickly deleted the post and Trump administration officials said no such expedition had taken place.
The Paris and London stock markets gained over 1.5% after European gas prices sank 15%, helping ease concerns over a renewed surge of global inflation.
Frankfurt ended the day up 2.4%.
Asian stock markets rallied, with Seoul up more than 5% and Tokyo ending with a gain of 2.9%.
“Renewed optimism on the back of falling oil prices helped global stock indices recover, most strongly in Asia and Europe,” said analyst Axel Rudolph at IG trading platform.
Wall Street stocks also spent much of the session in positive territory but lost ground after Mr. Wright deleted his social media post, which raised hopes that the Strait of Hormuz was back open for activity.
A DOE spokesperson said Mr. Wright’s post was taken down because it was “incorrectly captioned” by agency staff.
Mr. Trump’s energy team “are closely monitoring the situation, speaking with industry leaders, and having the US military draw up additional options to keep the Strait of Hormuz open, including the potential for our Navy to escort tankers,” a DOE spokesperson said.
The broad-based S&P 500 finished down 0.2%.
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Jack Ablin of Cresset Capital Management said oil remains at the top of investor concerns. “It’s sort of the lifeblood of the global economy,” Mr. Ablin said. “Anything that could potentially disrupt that is of concern to investors worldwide.”
Investors were also digesting Mr. Trump’s remarks on Monday (March 9, 2026) that the campaign was far ahead of his initial timeline of around a month. “It’s going to be ended soon, and if it starts up again they’ll be hit even harder,” he told a news conference in Florida.
Iran has responded by vowing to block Gulf oil exports and asserting that it, not the U.S., would “determine the end of the war”.
Mr. Trump warned Iran against mining the Strait of Hormuz, through which nearly 20% of the world’s crude oil usually transits from the Gulf to world markets.
“If for any reason mines were placed, and they are not removed forthwith, the Military consequences to Iran will be at a level never seen before,” Mr. Trump said in a social media post.
Published – March 11, 2026 03:24 am IST
