President Joe Biden reached for the US strategic oil reserves Tuesday in an attempt to flatten fuel price rises pummeling Americans at Thanksgiving — and hoping to reignite his own political fortunes.
The White House said the effort to tamp down the oil market by using emergency reserves was for the first time being done in conjunction with other countries, following weeks of negotiations.
‘This release will be taken in parallel with other major energy consuming nations including China, India, Japan, Republic of Korea and the United Kingdom,’ the White House said in a statement.
As the world emerges from the Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdowns, oil production has not kept pace with rocketing demand, pushing prices up.
In the United States, the hike in gasoline prices is one of the main culprits in a wider surge of inflation.
And Biden’s announcement comes as Americans enter the holiday season, with millions traveling home or on vacation for this Thursday’s Thanksgiving.
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Average fuel prices at filling stations are $3.41 a gallon, the highest level since 2014, according to latest figures from the AAA motorists’ association. This represents an increase of $1.29 over gasoline prices a year ago.
Biden and his wife Jill are also traveling to family or friends ahead of Thanksgiving, although in his case it will be on Air Force One later Tuesday for a short flight to the picturesque island of Nantucket.
But high fuel prices are not only making holiday travel expensive. High transport costs are also juicing costs throughout the economy, leading to soaring inflation for everything from second hand cars to the Thanksgiving turkeys.
While the economy is generally doing well, with employment rapidly rising, wages up and the stock market climbing ever higher, sticker shock at the pump and in the supermarket has soured the national mood. That in turn has badly weakened Biden.
In the latest average of polls from fivethirtyeight.com, Biden’s approval rating is just 42.8, with 52.2 percent disapproving.
AFRICA DAILY NEWS, NEW YORK
