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The continuous shrinkage of global inventories is, in fact, steadily increasing Iran's leverage in the current negotiations.

"This doesn't solve any problems. The only way to resolve this crisis is to increase the supply of 'physical molecules', meaning the supply of actual oil," he explained. Although the release of the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve provides some degree of cushioning, Curry stated that the market pricing mechanism indicates the fundamental physical shortage remains exceptionally severe.

According to reports, regarding the two-year reduction period for the food and beverage consumption tax, the Japanese government is leaning towards setting the tax rate at 1% rather than zero. It has been learned that in order to achieve the zero tax rate promised by the Liberal Democratic Party during the House of Representatives election in February, it would take up to about one year to modify the cash register systems at retail stores. However, if the rate is set at 1%, the modification time can be shortened to around half a year. Therefore, as a measure against surging prices, the view that priority should be given to early implementation is gaining more support. Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is expected to make the final decision as soon as late June.