U.S. reportedly considering releasing 1 million barrels of oil per day to try to bring down gasoline prices

Sylvie Claire / March 30, 2022

The U.S. is considering releasing 1 million barrels of oil a day for several months, sources told the financial news agency Bloomberg. The Biden administration hopes to lower gasoline prices in this way.

According to unnamed sources, up to 180 million barrels in total could come from the country's strategic oil reserves, which currently stand at 568 million barrels according to the latest figures from the US Energy Information Agency (EIA).

The price of U.S. WTI oil fell more than 5 percent in reaction to the news, according to AFP.

Earlier, U.S. President Joe Biden promised to provide 30 million barrels of oil from reserves to stabilize the global energy market.

The White House said Biden would announce Thursday how his administration plans to lower gasoline prices, but did not provide details. Oil prices have risen sharply since the start of the war in Ukraine, invaded by Russia, which is also the world's third largest oil producer. Prices are currently over 100 dollars against around 60 dollars a year ago.

The U.S. administration has already been steadily drawing down its strategic reserves since November when the rise in oil prices took hold. Last week, these strategic reserves decreased by another 3 million barrels.

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