ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – Global oil supply rebounded by 4.1 million barrels per day to 98.8 million in June as exports through the Strait of Hormuz partially recovered, despite production remaining well below pre-war levels, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Friday.

Global oil supply “rebounded by a sharp” 4.1 million barrels to 98.8 million in June, but remained 9.4 million below pre-war levels, the IEA said in its latest report.

The rebound follows sharp disruptions caused by the Middle East war since late February, which reduced global oil flows by around 14 million barrels a day. In its mid-May report, the agency said global supply had fallen by 1.8 million in April.

Iran shut the Strait of Hormuz - through which around 20 percent of the world's oil shipments normally pass - in retaliation for the US-Israeli war in late February.

The agency said “benchmark crude oil prices continued their downward slide” in June as the ceasefire agreement between the US and Iran midway through the month “underpinned a strong recovery” in oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz.

It also cited Washington's temporary easing of restrictions on Iranian exports and security support for non-Iranian shipments, allowing tankers “stuck in the Strait rushed to exit.”

Following the June 17 agreement between the US and Iran to halt the conflict and restore shipping through the waterway, the backlog of crude oil stranded in the Gulf eased rapidly, with about 23 million barrels still awaiting transit through the waterway as of last week, according to Kpler analyst Johannes Rauball.

“A recovery in world oil demand is underway,” the IEA said.

However, renewed escalation between Washington and Tehran in and around the Strait of Hormuz since early Wednesday “clouds ⁠the outlook and could upend the forecast that sees the market flipping to a surplus next year,” the IEA said.

Following the escalation, US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that the truce "as far as I'm concerned, it's over." Later on Thursday, he said, "They [Iranian negotiators] called a little while ago. They want to make a deal so badly - I just don't know if they're worthy of making a deal. I don't know that they're going to honor the deal."