BREAKING NEWS

After oil price rise, IEA ready to keep oil market supplied

PARIS - The International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Monday it was closely monitoring developments in the Strait of Hormuz and was ready to act if needed to keep the global oil market supplied.

The Paris-based agency said the right of free energy transit through the strait was critical to the global economy and must be maintained.

Oil prices rose on Monday on concerns that Iran's seizure of a British tanker in the strait last week may lead to supply disruptions in the energy-rich Gulf.

"Consumers can be reassured that the oil market is currently well supplied, with oil production exceeding demand in the first half of 2019, pushing up global stocks by 900,000 barrels per day," the IEA said in a statement.

The Strait of Hormuz is a vital maritime transit route for world energy trade. About 20 million barrels of oil transit each day through the strait, or about 20% of global supply, it said.