Oil traders are warning that global crude supply buffers are getting close to depletion after the Strait of Hormuz shuts again. Multiple reports say the closure threatens normal oil flows through one of the world’s most important chokepoints, raising fears of tighter prompt markets and higher volatility. The central point across coverage is that emergency stockpiles—described as having acted as “shock absorbers” earlier in the Iran-related conflict period—are increasingly thin. With each disruption, those inventories are drawn down, leaving less capacity to smooth shortages if the closure persists or expands. Traders are therefore watching both remaining inventory levels and near-term shipping and pricing signals for confirmation of how quickly supply can be restored. While the sources focus on the risk of tightening, they do not provide a single new figure that would quantify “how close” markets are to being overwhelmed. Instead, they present a consistent assessment that reduced spare stock and renewed interruption at Hormuz leave the market more exposed than during earlier phases of the conflict.