A senior US official said US oil would “come to market very soon” and that with other countries making their own coordinated releases of reserves, the total addition to the daily supply would be “well over 1 million barrels”.
The release eclipses previous uses of the strategic stock announced by the Biden administration in tandem with other countries on March 1 after the Russian invasion, and also last year in response to rising inflation.
Despite a strongly rebounding economy and a rapidly receding pandemic, Mr. Biden is getting little credit from voters who instead blame him for rising prices everywhere from supermarkets to car dealerships.
Supply chain issues related to different paces of economic recovery around the world are part of the inflation phenomenon. However, also underpinning this politically perilous trend are ever-higher fuel prices, which in turn drive up transport prices for almost all commodities.
And for drivers, the price shock when filling up is a constant irritation.
Gasoline prices are now averaging $4.23 a gallon, 47% higher than the same time last year.
The price of U.S. oil fell 4.6% to around $103 a barrel, while Brent fell 5.5% to $107 a barrel.
Oil prices jumped to nearly $140 a barrel at the start of the month. Prices have retreated somewhat since the US banned Russian energy imports on March 8, but have largely held above $100 a barrel.
A senior US official said prices paid by motorists “have currently increased by almost $1 since Vladimir Putin stepped up his military build-up in January.”
“The supply of Russian oil is shrinking and the price has gone up. The President said from the outset that resisting Putin’s aggression would never be painless, but he pledged to do everything he can to helping American families,” he added.
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Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
This notice was published: 2022-03-31 16:44:10
