US wants to reduce world oil prices with historic intervention from reserves

SARAJevo, (Patria) - The administration of US President Joe Biden is considering releasing up to 180 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) over several months, as the White House seeks to lower fuel prices. This would be the third time the United States has used its strategic reserves in the past six months, and the largest oil release in the SPR's nearly 50-year history, Reuters reported, citing three US sources.

Previous oil releases have failed to lower prices as global demand has nearly reached pre-pandemic levels, while global supply conditions have tightened. Oil prices began to rise in late February with Russia's attack on Ukraine, to which the United States and its Western allies responded with sanctions against Russia, the world's second-largest crude oil exporter.

Oil prices fell sharply

The price of benchmark Brent crude oil jumped to around $139 a barrel earlier this month, the highest since 2008, and was near $110 a barrel in Asian trading on Thursday. President Joe Biden will present his administration's plans today, the White House announced, which did not comment on the oil release plan.

The Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) currently holds 568.3 million barrels of oil, the lowest amount since May 2002, Reuters reported, citing data from the US Department of Energy.

In the London market this morning, the price of a barrel fell 3.92 percent to $109.05, while in the US market, a barrel fell 4.62 percent to $102.85, reports Index.hr