Germany and Japan were the first to confirm the release of oil reserves, making it "unlikely" that oil prices will reach new highs before the end of March.

According to Mars Finance, on March 11, with the escalation of the Middle East conflict leading to the de facto closure of the Strait of Hormuz, global energy security faces severe challenges. The International Energy Agency (IEA) plans to launch the largest strategic oil reserve release program in history. Sources revealed that the IEA recommends releasing approximately 300 to 400 million barrels of oil, significantly exceeding the 182 million barrels released in two phases during the 2022 Russia-Ukraine conflict. Germany and Japan have already taken the lead, with Japan releasing approximately 80 million barrels of crude oil from private and national reserves. Japan emphasized that it would suffer the most severe impact if the Strait of Hormuz were closed, thus requiring a swift response. The German Minister of Economy stated that Germany will release 2.4 million tons of national oil reserves. Other IEA member countries, such as the UK, Austria, and South Korea, have also expressed their willingness to cooperate. According to market data, both WTI and Brent crude oil prices have fallen during the day, with WTI crude oil falling below $88.3 per barrel and Brent crude oil falling below $85.5 per barrel. According to PolyBeats, on the prediction market Polymarket, the probability of "crude oil prices breaking through the all-time high (i.e., $147.27) before the end of March" is 10%, and the probability of "crude oil prices exceeding $120 before the end of March" is only 29%.