President Joe Biden will announce his intention to withdraw 15 million additional barrels from strategic reserves to pump into the American market in an effort to lower fuel prices, a senior US official said on Tuesday. The official stressed that the White House chief does not rule out withdrawing other additional quantities if necessary.
The 180 million barrels of oil from the strategic reserve that will be released into the market in December will be the final component of a scheme that the American President unveiled in the spring to combat the high prices of black gold.
The price of West Texas Intermediate oil for November delivery dropped by 3 due to news that was released on Tuesday by a number of American media outlets regarding this decision.
08%, or $82.82 per barrel, was recorded.
The president directed the Ministry of Energy to get ready to sell more (from the strategic reserve oil) this winter if required, whether because of Russia or because of other activities that could disrupt the market, the senior American official told reporters.
He continued, saying that Biden planned to implement a mechanism at the same time to replenish the long-term strategic reserve.
He added that when the price of West Texas Intermediate crude drops to between $67 and $72 per barrel, the US government will start buying oil.
In response to a question about the possibility of limiting US oil exports or temporarily suspending these exports, the official explained that the Biden administration “keeps all tools on the table, anything that can help secure supplies” the American market.
In an effort to boost his popularity and the electoral success of his Democratic party candidates, Biden is working to lower fuel prices in the United States in advance of the upcoming legislative elections on November 8.
Despite having dropped by 22% since mid-June, when they peaked, gasoline prices are still 16% higher than they were during the same time last year.
As for the diesel, its price has not decreased a little since June, due to the small size of the stock of this commodity, which is sold today by more than 50% compared to the price it was last year.
The US has reduced its strategic reserves by more over 212 million barrels since the beginning of September 2021, bringing them to their lowest level since June 1984.
Biden phoned the oil firms, the same person noted, since they “quickly transferred to its customers to cut energy prices,” adding that “keeping prices high when costs decrease is unacceptable.”
Biden makes the decision to withdraw 15 million barrels from strategic oil reserves.
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