Energy · Hormuz blockadeChina's 40% Oil Cut Kept Global Prices From Spiraling After Hormuz ClosedAired August 14, 2026 at 9:09 PM UTCWritten September 7, 2026 at 9:22 PM UTCRead the write-upThis storyTranscript · LOADING0:00Global oil prices did not spiral [music]0:02after the Strait of Hormuz closed at the0:03start of the Iran war because China0:05absorbed the shock, cutting [music]0:07crude imports by 40% between April and0:09June 2026 and drawing down enormous0:12pre-war [music] stockpiles. That cut and0:14drawdown covered the loss of more than0:1513 million barrels per day of Middle0:17Eastern exports, stabilizing world0:20prices and averting a recession that0:21would have raised fuel, shipping, and0:23manufacturing costs [music] for0:24households and businesses everywhere.0:26The closure cut the corridor that0:28carries a large share of the world's oil0:30>> [music]0:30>> and the buffer that steadied the market0:31sat away on the Chinese mainland. The0:35scale made the intervention possible.0:36[music]0:37Stockpiles were double the combined size0:39of United States and Japanese reserves0:41and larger than the reserves of the0:42United States, Japan, [music]0:44Saudi Arabia, and South Korea combined.0:46Forward cover was easily 150 plus days,0:49providing months of supply while imports0:51were pulled back. The import cut held0:54because domestic oil demand was0:55destroyed. More than [music] half of0:57passenger vehicles sold are now electric0:59and about a quarter of trucks sold are1:01electric, while second quarter sales of1:03gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel fell well1:05over 10% year over year. The power mix1:07shifted with it. Coal provided 54% of1:10electricity last [music] year and is1:12below 50% this year compared with 80% in1:142011. While renewables topped 40% for1:17the first [music] time, supported by1:19greater use of coal and gas and export1:21bans on refined products [music] that1:22kept more fuel at home. The shift is1:24presented as a long-term strategy for1:26energy security and protection against1:28sanctions, with the China National1:30Petroleum Corporation seeing 85% energy1:33self-sufficiency in 2026 and Goldman1:35Sachs projecting 100% by 2060. [music]1:38The account comes from a single analysis1:40published August 14th, 2026 with no1:43independent customs, stockpile, or1:45market data confirming the figures in1:47the material provided. That leaves1:49unresolved how much of the price1:50stability is directly attributable to1:52those actions and whether the demand1:54destruction and power mix transformation1:56will be sustained as imports,1:58stockpiles, and refined product controls2:00are managed going forward.2:02Like and follow for more stories that2:04matter.Explore with HeyDexThe shortThe short ↗