Oil Prices Tumble on Report That Biden Will Tap Emergency Reserve
Oil prices continued their fall Thursday after reports that President Joe Biden is considering a plan to release up to 180 million barrels of oil, a move to counteract the effects on the oil market from Russia’s war on Ukraine.
Brent crude, the international bench mark, dropped about 5.9% to $106.80 a barrel. West Texas Intermediate crude, the U.S. bench mark, fell 6.1% to $101.25 a barrel. Oil prices also fell immediately following reports of the plan Wednesday night.
Biden could announce his plans later Thursday: His public schedule, released Wednesday night, showed that he is expected to speak in the afternoon on “actions to reduce the impact of Putin’s price hike on energy prices and lower gas prices at the pump for American families,” referring to President Vladimir Putin of Russia.
The average price of gasoline is $4.23 a gallon, according to AAA, the motor club. That is about the same as it was a week ago but up 62 cents a gallon in the past month.
If fully enacted, Biden’s plan would release 1 million barrels of oil a day from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, which contains about 550 million barrels total, for up to 180 days, a step toward keeping gas prices down and helping the United States endure highs and lows in supply and demand.
Oil prices have also dropped this week after peace talks between Russia and Ukraine showed the first signs of meaningful progress and as China, the world’s largest oil importer, deals with its biggest coronavirus outbreak of the pandemic. This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
