Why Biden’s release of US oil reserves won’t end pain at the pump

A Russian oil depot burns in the country's Belgorod region after the government accused Ukraine of launching a helicopter attack, April 1, 2022 [Russian Emergency Ministry Press Service via AP]

Washington, DC – When Joe Biden announced that the United States would release more than 180 million barrels of oil from its strategic petroleum reserve over the next six months, the US president hailed it as an historic move that would lower fuel prices in the US.

The price at the pump has surged amid Russia’s war in Ukraine, which has led the US and other nations to bar oil and gas imports from Moscow and driven concerns over global energy supplies with inventories low and new production capacity limited.