Oil climbs above $101 a barrel despite historic reserve release

Oil prices climbed above $101 a barrel Thursday, despite the International Energy Agency (IEA) announcing a unanimous agreement among its 32 member countries to release 400 million barrels of oil from their emergency reserves, Al Jazeera reported.

Futures for Brent crude, the international benchmark, jumped nearly 20% as the news failed to ease concerns over prolonged disruptions to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.

Brent was trading near $101 a barrel as of 0200GMT, up more than 38% from levels seen before the start of the Iran war.

Member countries of the IEA agreed to release 400 million barrels of oil from their strategic reserves, the largest coordinated release in history, to calm energy markets shaken by the war in the Middle East, the head of the energy watchdog announced Wednesday.