International Energy Agency Executive Director Fatih Birol said commercial oil inventories are shrinking faster than expected.
“I think they are depleting very fast,” he told reporters on the sidelines of a G7 finance ministers meeting in Paris, echoing comments he first made last week. According to Birol, the issue concerns “several weeks,” but the rapid pace of the decline should not be underestimated.
Birol also pointed to rising fertilizer and diesel prices as the travel and planting seasons begin.
“This could have major implications for food prices and, together with higher energy costs, could significantly accelerate inflation,” he said.
Earlier Monday, French Industry Minister Roland Lescure, who is hosting the G7 meetings, told Bloomberg Television that strategic petroleum reserves had already been released several months ago and that “if necessary, we could do it again in the future.”