Trump signals he will tap into Strategic Petroleum Reserve to bring down gas prices

WASHINGTON — President Trump on Wednesday ordered the release of 172 million barrels of oil from the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve in an effort to bring down rising gas prices.“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 said during an interview with Local 12 in Kentucky.Follow live updates on the US and Israel’s war with IranHis willingness to tap the strategic reserve comes as the International Energy Agency coordinates the release of 400 million barrels of oil from various national reserves around the world.The Energy Department said it will release oil from America’s reserve beginning next week and that it ”will take approximately 120 days to deliver based on planned discharge rates.”The US consumes roughly 20 million barrels of petroleum per day — meaning Trump’s release could cover almost nine days of domestic demand over that period, putting downward pressure on prices.The president praised the international actions as a stabilizing force in the markets due to the ongoing war in Iran.Dispersal from IEA will “substantially reduce the oil prices as we end this threat to America and this threat to the world,” Trump said.Trump is trying to ease fears of high gas prices as the summer driving season is on the horizon.He shrugged off rising gas prices as a “matter of war” earlier in the day and expressed confidence the market would settle soon.“I figured we’d be hit a little bit.

We were hit less than I thought and we’ll be back on track in a pretty short while,” he told reporters traveling with him to Ohio.He also argued that gas “prices are coming down very substantially,” noting the increase is “just a matter or war.That happens.

You can almost predict it.”Prices of a barrel of oil rose to nearly $120 before dropping back down to around $90 a barrel.Gas prices in the US rose for the 11th day in a row.

The national averag...