{"text":[[{"start":9.65,"text":"Global oil inventories are plummeting at a record pace with the ongoing disruptions caused by the Iran war threatening further price spikes, the International Energy Agency warned on Wednesday."}],[{"start":21.1,"text":"Stockpiles of crude oil and refined fuel declined at a rate of almost 4mn barrels a day in April — the equivalent of more than the UK and Germany’s consumption combined — threatening to erode the buffer countries rely on to weather supply shocks."}],[{"start":36.35,"text":"“The world is drawing oil inventories at a record pace as importing countries confront unprecedented disruptions to Middle Eastern supplies,” the IEA said in its closely watched monthly report."}],[{"start":48.400000000000006,"text":"“Rapidly shrinking buffers amid continued disruptions may herald future price spikes ahead.”"}],[{"start":54.550000000000004,"text":"The warning from the IEA will add to concerns that stockpiles of certain fuels could reach critically low levels this summer, forcing consumers to compete for dwindling supplies."}],[{"start":65.9,"text":"The IEA said global oil stocks have plummeted by almost 250mn barrels since the start of the war “with much steeper losses” if they exclude oil trapped in the Gulf by the almost complete closure of the Strait of Hormuz."}],[{"start":81.10000000000001,"text":"The IEA said supply losses from the Gulf were being offset to a degree by lower consumption, including in developed countries."}],[{"start":88.55000000000001,"text":"Europe is set to cut oil consumption this year on a scale last seen following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, declining by 140,000 b/d this year, the IEA said."}],[{"start":99.85000000000001,"text":"That assumes the Iran war ends by early June, said the IEA. If the conflict continues past this point, Europe would be on track to make further cuts."}],[{"start":110.05000000000001,"text":"All oil importing nations have been affected by the near closure of the Strait of Hormuz, through which around a fifth of the world’s oil usually passes, for more than 10 weeks by the Iranian threat to merchant shipping. "}],[{"start":122.30000000000001,"text":"Reduced flows from the Middle East have caused the biggest oil supply shock in history. Consumption has fallen in many countries, particularly in Asia which receives most of the Middle East’s oil."}],[{"start":133.85000000000002,"text":"One of the oil products most under pressure in Europe is jet fuel. The Middle East supplied about 60 per cent of Europe’s jet fuel in 2025. "}],[{"start":142.85000000000002,"text":"Net imports fell by nearly 100,000 b/d in April against last year, dragging inventories in the crucial Amsterdam–Rotterdam–Antwerp hub below five-year lows, the IEA said."}],[{"start":155.20000000000002,"text":"The impact of lower supplies has been limited to a degree by higher exports from North America, particularly the US, which increased diesel exports by 430,000 b/d versus last year and directed 80 per cent of those shipments to Europe, the IEA said."}],[{"start":178.8,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1778662105_6092.mp3"}