Energy prices: unprecedented initiative by the United States and other countries to bring down oil prices

The United States and other countries, in a coordinated initiative presented as unprecedented by the Americans, will use their strategic oil reserves to try to lower the price of black gold, the White House announced Tuesday.

The world's largest economy will put 50 million barrels of oil on the market, according to a statement. By increasing supply, the United States and other states hope to mechanically lower prices.

This operation is being carried out in parallel with other major consumers of black gold, in particular China, India, Japan, South Korea and the United Kingdom, according to the White House. A senior U.S. administration official assured that such coordination was a first.

Soaring prices at the pump in the United States, a major consumer of gasoline, pose a major political problem for President Joe Biden. His attempts to pressure producing countries, notably Saudi Arabia, to increase their supply have so far not been successful.