Japan’s Industry Ministry announced today that Japan will release 7.5 million barrels of oil from emergency reserves as part of a joint action plan with the International Energy Agency (IEA) to stabilize the oil market.
The 31 IEA member countries had previously planned to draw down a total of 60 million barrels of oil. This makes Japan the country with the most reserves to release after the United States. The U.S. wants to release 30 million barrels, according to reports.
“With 60 million barrels in total to be released jointly by the 31 IEA members, Japan ranks second in share after the U.S., which will release 30 million barrels,”
said Industry Minister Koichi Hagiuda
World oil prices recently rebounded due to the rapid recovery of the global economy and tight supply in the market. With Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, oil prices shot above $100 per barrel for the first time since the financial crisis.
However, the IEA’s announcement on the release of oil reserves has so far had little impact on oil prices.
Meanwhile, Japan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications reported today that the unemployment rate in Japan rose to 2.8% in January from 2.7% in December.
In addition, the Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare reported that the ratio of job openings per job seeker increased from 1.17 to 1.20 in January, meaning that there are 120 job openings for every 100 job seekers.