The International Energy Agency agreed Wednesday to release the largest volume of emergency oil reserves in its history, in a bid to counter the effects on energy markets of the war in the Middle East.

The Paris-based organization said it will make 400 million barrels of oil available from its members' emergency reserves. It's a larger stock than the 182.7 million barrels that were released in 2022 by the IEA's 32 member countries in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

The rising prices causing winces of pain at gasoline pumps are due, in large part, to the impact of the Iran war on the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial passageway for oil and gas from the Persian Gulf. The narrow waterway off Iran's coast, now effectively closed by the war, is so vital for the global economy that governments are working on blueprints to speedily reopen it to shipping when the shooting stops.

In Europe, French President Emmanuel Macron is leading an international effort to unblock the energy chokepoint, so oil, gas and goods could flow freely again "when circumstances permit." He envisages countries using warships to escort tankers and container vessels through the strait when fighting is no longer raging so intensely, whenever that maybe.

Iran vowed on Tuesday that not one liter of oil would be exported from the Gulf while its war with the United States and Israel continues, in a stark rebuke to President Donald Trump's boast that the conflict was all but over.

Trump's argument that the war would be "ended soon" helped reverse the Monday's spike in oil prices, which have surged since Iranian attacks on shipping closed the Strait of Hormuz in response to the U.S.-Israeli strikes that killed its supreme leader.

The war with Iran is doing collateral damage to the world economy.

The conflict is driving up energy and fertilizer prices; threatening food shortages in poor countries; destabilizing fragile states such as Pakistan; and complicating options for the inflation fighters at central banks like the Federal Reserve.

Oil prices spiked near $120 per barrel before falling back Monday as the Iran war intensified, threatening production and shipping in the Middle East and pummeling financial markets.

The price for a barrel of Brent crude, the international standard, surged to $119.50 per barrel early in the day but later was trading at $107.80 per barrel.

Global energy trade is in turmoil as war around the Persian Gulf chokes off oil and natural gas shipments, causing prices to soar.

Asia is the most exposed since it relies heavily on imported fuel, much of it shipped through the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow passageway that carries a fifth of global trade in crude oil and liquified natural gas, or LNG.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney arrived in Mumbai on Friday for his first official visit to India, seeking to reset relations and deepen trade cooperation with New Delhi after ties deteriorated in recent years under his predecessor.

During his four-day trip, Carney is set to hold talks with business leaders and will meet with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on Monday.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Friday that she will start to "provisionally implement" a massive trade deal with the Mercosur bloc of nations in South America despite not having approval from European Parliament.

The trans-Atlantic trade deal is expected to create one of the world's largest free trade zones covering more than 700 million people. Trade between the two tops 110 billion euro ($129 billion) and accounts for a quarter of global gross domestic product.

France's agriculture minister said Friday she regretted the European Union's provisional application of a mammoth trade deal with the South American Mercosur bloc.

"It is a decision that I regret," Annie Genevard told reporters at the Salon de l'Agriculture following EU chief Ursula von der Leyen's announcement. "It is not in line with the respect that should have been shown for the European Parliament's decision."

The International Monetary Fund says it is allowing Egypt to draw on about $2.3 billion from an earlier approved loan, noting that the country has made progress in restoring economic stability and reducing inflation as part of a reform program.

The IMF said in a statement Wednesday that the decision to release the funding followed reviews of the government reforms, which it credited with bringing about "a broad-based economic recovery" in the world's most populous Arab country. It noted that the gross domestic product grew at a rate of 4.4% from 2024 to 2025.