IEA chief warns of tougher month for energy markets

Washington - April could shape up to be a tougher month than March for energy markets and the economy due to the Middle East war, the head of the International Energy Agency said Monday.

While March saw the delivery of cargo from the region "loaded well before the crisis started," Fatih Birol said, "during April, nothing has been loaded."

"The longer the disruption is, the more severe the problem becomes," he told reporters after a meeting at the International Monetary Fund.