International Energy Agency (IEA) Executive Director Fatih Birol warned on Thursday that the global oil market may enter a "red zone" in July and August this year, as fuel demand rise and stocks dwindle.
Birol noted that the supply crisis triggered by the situation in the Middle East was initially cushioned by spare capacity in the global oil market, but that oil stocks are now gradually decreasing.
The 32 members of the IEA on March 11 unanimously agreed to make 400 million barrels of oil from their emergency reserves available to the market in response to disruptions caused by the Middle East conflict.
The IEA stands ready to coordinate further reserve releases if necessary, Birol added.
IEA chief warns of global oil market entering "red zone" this summer
Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Thursday presided over a State Council executive meeting that studied work on building a unified national market and reviewed and approved a plan for the development of a modern emergency response system during the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-2030).
Noting that building a unified national market is essential to advancing high-quality development, the meeting called for deepening institutional frameworks in areas such as property rights protection, market access, fair competition, social credit and market exit mechanisms.
The meeting also urged efforts to advance high-standard connectivity of market infrastructure to facilitate smooth economic circulation and effectively reduce logistics costs across society.
Emergency management is critical to protecting people's lives and property, the meeting said. It called for accelerating the development of a modern emergency response system, deepening reform and innovation in emergency management, and improving coordinated response mechanisms.
Efforts should be made to strengthen risk prevention at the source, enhance monitoring, forecasting and early warning, and accelerate a shift in governance toward proactive prevention, according to the meeting.
A draft revision of the Law on the People's Bank of China was also discussed and approved in principle at the meeting, which decided to submit the draft to the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress for deliberation.
Chinese premier chairs State Council executive meeting
