How China and U.S. eased the Middle East oil shock and kept prices from spiking even higher

China and the United States have provided critical support to the oil market and helped ease the huge supply disruption in the Middle East and kept energy prices from surging even higher. The oil market has lost about 10 million barrels per day (bpd) of exports from the Persian Gulf due to Iran's blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, according to the International Energy Agency 's latest update this week. It is the largest oil supply disruption in history, equivalent to about 10% of total global consumption. But crude prices on Thursday closed just above $100 per barrel, which is lower than the prices seen during smaller supply disruptions such as the one following the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022. One explanation is China and the U.S., the world's two largest economies, wield considerable influence over the oil market, and are using it to help plug the supply gap. China is the largest oil importer in the world. The U.S. is the biggest oil producer and an important exporter. Exports surge, imports fall Oil exports from producers outside the Middle East, led by the U.S., have surged by 3.5 million bpd during the Iran war, according to the IEA . Meanwhile, China has slashed its oil imports by 3.6 million bpd, roughly equivalent to Japan's entire daily consumption . Together, the moves total 7.1 million bpd, or about 70% of the exports lost from the Gulf. Japan, South Korea and India, meanwhile, have collectively reduced their imports by 3.6 million bpd, the IEA found. …