Oil Prices Rise After Biden Announces Emergency Action

Domestic and international oil price indices rose Tuesday, even after President Joe Biden and other world leaders coordinated a release of emergency reserves.

Intermediate (WTI) crude oil index, which measures U.S. prices, increased more than 2% to $78.44 per barrel while the European Brent Crude index ticked up nearly 3%, hitting $82 per barrel. But, in an effort to knock down high gasoline prices, which are tied to the cost of oil, Biden joined several nations, including China, Japan and the U.K., in releasing tens of millions of barrels of oil from emergency reserves.

The White House said the U.S. would withdraw 50 million barrels from its Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR), established in the 1970s for future energy crises and currently holding about 604 million barrels in inventory. The U.S. consumes 18-19 million barrels of oil per day, and the world consumes nearly 100 million total barrels per day, according to the International Energy Agency.

“Joe Biden is going to release 50 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. That is less than three days of U.S. oil consumption,” Steve Milloy, a former member of the Trump transition team, tweeted. “The release will have no meaningful impact on gas prices. Ridiculous.”