Gas Prices: Feds Considering Tapping Into Oil Reserve As Prices Continue To Hike


As gas prices continue to climb, the White House is reportedly considering tapping into the Strategic Petroleum Reserve in order to ease the pain at the pump for drivers.

The anonymous official who spoke on the possibility of releasing oil from the federal reserve added that the US is monitoring gas prices first to see if they fall, reports CBS News.

On average, gas prices in the US have risen 39 cents since the beginning of July, mainly due to the increase in oil prices as well as problems with refineries in some regions. The average price for a gallon of gas has increased 18 cents in the past two weeks alone.

The price of oil did an about face after a three day gain once rumors hit about the White House considering a tap into the federal reserve. Nick Trevethan, senior commodities strategist at ANZ Research in Singapore, stated:

“Overnight the trigger for the weakness was, potentially, news reports that the U.S. will consider releasing strategic petroleum reserves, and that seems to be weighing on the market.”

Gas prices have been a hot topic in the US this summer, with the increase in prices seen, despite an earlier estimate that the cost of a gallon of gas could dip below $3 by Thanksgiving. Fox News reports that Deputy Press Secretary Josh Earnest stated that, “A release of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve is an option that’s on the table,” but added that he didn’t “have anything to announce further on that topic at this point.”

The petroleum reserve has been tapped once already by the Obama administration, and, with gas prices putting yet another crimp in the President’s re-election efforts, he may consider tapping the reserve again to help drivers deal with gas prices should they climb too high.

Talks about tapping the petroleum reserve because of rising gas prices come in cycles, and usually leads to a partisan dispute, with Democrats favoring the decision while Republicans instead argue that the rising oil costs are a good reason to explore for more domestic oil and drilling.

Do you think that the White House should tap the Strategic Petroleum Reserve in order to combat high gas prices?

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