Analysis: Emergency oil reserves released in response to the war in Iran. Now it’s up to Trump for a long-term fix | CNN Business

Dozens of countries have done the unprecedented, releasing an historic amount of crude from emergency reserves to prevent high oil prices from crippling the economy. If that doesn’t work, there’s only one serious option left: ending the war and opening the Strait of Hormuz. Those nations this week agreed to send a record 400 million barrels of oil into the market to counteract choked-off crude supplies. It’s the equivalent of smashing the “break in case of emergency” glass for the oil market. That’s because this is truly an emergency. Oil has been stuck in the Middle East for more than a week, as Iran has threatened to attack any ship passing through the strait – a critical waterway through which a fifth of the world’s crude travels. More than 15 million barrels of crude production per day have been taken offline, according to investment firm Raymond James, and millions more barrels are stuck on tankers. It’s the biggest oil supply disruption in history – by a factor of two, according to Rapidan Energy Group. So, the 32 member nations of the International Energy Agency turned on their storage tank spigots to flood the market. It had better work, because when the