On Wednesday, U.S. President Joe Biden expressed the need for further actions in response to rising energy prices, insisting that Americans should not have to pay more due to these increases. Among the recent measures taken was the release of part of the U.S. strategic oil reserves. The United States reduced its strategic petroleum stockpile by 3.2 million barrels last week to 606.15 million barrels, the lowest level since 2003. The U.S. Energy Information Administration reported that gasoline stocks fell last week to 212 million barrels, the lowest level since November 2017, while distillate stocks dropped to 123.7 million barrels, the lowest since April 2020.
Oil prices decreased on Wednesday as investors assessed the potential for the Biden administration to tap into emergency reserves, in a move coordinated with countries like China, amidst mixed reports about U.S. inventories. Brent crude futures fell by one dollar to $81.43 per barrel in the latest trading, while West Texas Intermediate crude futures dropped by one dollar to $79.76 per barrel. Biden had discussed the benefits of drawing oil from the strategic petroleum reserve to halt the rise in gasoline prices. The South China Morning Post reported, citing an anonymous source, that the U.S. raised the potential release of reserves from China during this week's virtual summit with President Xi Jinping. It stated that Beijing is open to the request but did not commit to specific actions.
