HK Stock Market Move | Oil stocks continue to follow an upward trend, and the impact of releasing strategic oil reserves has weakened. The continued closure of the Strait of Hormuz will still push up oil prices.

Oil stocks continue to rise. As of press time, CNOOC (00883) rose 4.63% to 29.36 Hong Kong dollars; PetroChina (00857) rose 3.52% to 10.87 Hong Kong dollars; SHANGHAI PECHEM (00338) rose 2.05% to 1.49 Hong Kong dollars; China Oilfield Services (02883) rose 1.71% to 10.13 Hong Kong dollars; KUNLUN ENERGY (00135) rose 1.07% to 8.47 Hong Kong dollars. In terms of news, Fatih Birol, the Executive Director of the International Energy Agency, stated on March 11th that 32 member countries have unanimously agreed to release 400 million barrels of strategic petroleum reserves to address the global energy supply interruption risks caused by the conflict in the Middle East. After the International Energy Agency officially announced this news, international oil prices fell briefly by 3 dollars and then quickly rebounded, stabilizing for the most part. JP Morgan's latest research report analysis suggests that unless the safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz is guaranteed, all policy tools' impact on oil prices will be limited because potential supply losses in the next two weeks could reach up to 12 million barrels per day. Furthermore, some industry analysts believe that the market seems to have already factored in the news of the release of strategic petroleum reserves by member countries of the International Energy Agency. This analyst stated that the effectiveness of strategic reserves in stabilizing oil prices ultimately depends on the duration of the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, as releasing reserves is essentially a temporary and short-term measure. If shipping through the strait remains severely restricted for an extended period, solely relying on strategic reserves may not be enough to prevent further price increases.