The United States has announced the release of 50 million barrels of oil from its reserves in an effort to lower skyrocketing energy and gasoline costs.
Other major oil-consuming countries, such as China, India, Japan, South Korea, and the United Kingdom, are following suit.
US Vice President Joe Biden has urged the Opec oil-producing nations to increase supply more quickly.
Opec, on the other hand, has maintained to its commitment to steadily boost output.
It is afraid that a comeback of coronavirus cases may reduce demand, as it did during the pandemic’s peak.
Crude oil prices have lately risen to seven-year highs, owing to a strong increase in global demand as economies recover from the coronavirus outbreak.
It has increased the price of gasoline and increased the cost of energy in several countries.
“American households are feeling the effect of increased gas prices at the pump and in their home heating bills, and American companies are, too, since oil supply has not kept up with demand,” the White House said in a statement.
“That’s why President Biden is use every instrument at his disposal to reduce costs and address the supply shortage.”
The UK government will enable companies to release 1.5 million barrels of oil from privately owned reserves as part of the concerted effort.
It stated that the measure will promote global economic recovery, but that “any advantage to UK drivers is likely to be small and transitory.”
India will release five million barrels, while South Korea, Japan, and China will declare their releases in due time.
