The White House announced that US President Joe Biden has ordered the use of 50 million barrels of the United States' strategic oil reserves, in a coordinated effort with other countries to mitigate the rise in fuel prices.
The White House said, in a statement, that this will be coordinated with other energy consuming countries, including China, India, Japan, South Korea and the United Kingdom.
At the same time, India said, in a government statement, reported by Reuters, that it will release five million barrels of its strategic reserves in coordination with other buyers, including the United States, China, Japan and South Korea.
The move is part of efforts led by Biden to coordinate the release of stocks, which is seen as a warning to the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies (OPEC +) against pumping more oil to counter rising inflation in major economies such as the United States, China and others, according to the agency.
President Biden's announcement of the use of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve comes "as part of the ongoing efforts to reduce prices and address supply shortages around the world," according to the statement.
After this announcement, US West Texas crude fell $1.38, or 1.8 percent, to $75.37 a barrel.
The White House said that "over the past 18 months, the Corona pandemic has caused lockdowns to contain the virus, and it has affected the global economy in an unprecedented way."
He continued: "Since the economic movement has begun to regain its activity again, the demand for oil has increased, (...) and American consumers feel the impact of the rise in oil prices in petrol and diesel stations, and in their home heating bills, and American companies feel that as well, (. .) That is why President Biden decided to use "all the tools at his disposal to work on lowering prices and addressing the supply shortage."
The White House confirmed that the president is ready to take additional measures, if necessary (to reduce prices), and is ready to use his full powers in coordination with the rest of the countries, to maintain sufficient supplies of oil, with the United States emerging from the repercussions of the epidemic.
Despite this move, the statement says, the administration is committed to the president's ambitious clean energy goals, which are reflected in the Infrastructure Development Act, and investment in the fight against climate change.
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