The United States government announced the sale of 15 million barrels of oil from its strategic reserve to try to lower the price of fuel ahead of the Nov. 8 legislative election, in which Democrats vie for control of Congress.
In a phone conversation with journalists, the White House said the Department of Energy will sell these 15 million barrels (the last part of a total of 180 million that President Joe Biden approved in March) for December delivery.
In addition, Biden urged the Department of Energy to be prepared to sell more barrels from the reserve fund over the winter, if necessary, to combat rising prices.
Currently, the strategic reserves of US crude oil accumulate approximately 400 million barrels.
The US government also announced that it intends to repurchase this oil to its reserves when prices s are between US$ 67 (R$353,77 ) and US$ 72 (R$ 380, 26 ) a barrel, and will ask the oil companies to lower the price they charge consumers.
Although these measures have already been anticipated in this Tuesday’s conference call, Biden himself will be the one to will make it official on Wednesday, along with more actions to lower the price of gasoline in the country.
“There will be an announcement tomorrow in the president’s policy on what the next step forward is and what he will do to give the American people some relief,” White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said at her daily news conference.
Gasoline prices in the United States rose last week after that the OPEC+ alliance, led by Saudi Arabia and Russia, decided to reduce its production by 2 million barrels per day, which represents the biggest cut in oil supply since May 2020.
Average gasoline prices a in the US are currently at US$ 3,87 (R$ 20,43) per gallon (3,78 liters), a significant amount, but below the record high of $5, 02 (R$ 26,50) per gallon achieved in June, according to the American Automobile Association (AAA).
