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President Biden expected to tap into oil reserve amid high gas prices

Posted at 5:32 AM, Mar 31, 2022
and last updated 2022-03-31 06:27:42-04

(WXYZ) — In a bid to bring down prices at the pump, President Joe Biden is expected to announce an administrative plan to tap into the country's strategic oil reserve.

He’s expected to announce the release of around 1 million barrels per day for several months.

Back in November, the Biden administration released around 60 million barrels, which at the time, according to the president, was the largest release so far.

But that was before the Russian invasion of Ukraine drove crude oil prices through the roof.

According to AAA, Michigan's average price of gas is $4.11 per gallon. This is down from 4.14 one week ago, but quite a bit higher than we saw last month, at 3.56.

Crude oil prices were was trading at $105 a barrel on Wednesday. A year ago, it was just $60 a barrel. Overnight, we saw oil futures dip, as the U.S. prepares to tap into its reserves.

You might be wondering why domestic oil producers haven’t just been pumping more this whole time.

Well, according to a recent survey by the Dallas Federal Reserve, 59% of oil executives said investor pressure to keep “capital discipline” amid high prices was steering their decision.

President Biden is scheduled to speak on high energy prices at 1:30 today.