US announces release of 172 million barrels of oil from Strategic Petroleum Reserve

US President Donald Trump has announced that the country will be releasing 172 million barrels of oil from its Strategic Petroleum Reserve to bring down higher energy prices as a consequence of the ongoing war with Iran.The announcement was made by US Energy Secretary Chris Wright on Wednesday evening. The move also comes after the International Energy Agency on Wednesday, announced the release of 400 million barrels of oil from its emergency reserves, to combat the higher prices.

Crude oil prices continue to rise with the US Crude prices reclaiming the mark of $90 per barrel, while Brent prices are also trading above that mark.
Earlier, Trump had hinted on tapping the SPR to keep energy prices in check.“I filled it up once, and I’ll fill it up again, but right now, we’ll reduce it a little bit, and that brings the prices down,” Trump told Cincinnati broadcaster WKRC in an interview.

US gasoline prices have risen to nearly $3.6 per gallon on average due to supply shortage, as per motorist group AAA. The retail prices are nearly 22% higher than the same period last month.

The US is also a member of the IEA, which has more than 30 member nations across Europe, North America and Northeast Asia.

Currently, the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve has 415 million barrels of oil, which is 58% of its overall capacity of 714 million barrels.