Average gas price in US drops 10 cents

Biden taps oil reserve for 6 months to control surging gas prices

President Joe Biden is ordering the release of 1 million barrels of oil per day from the nation’s strategic petroleum reserve for six months, the White House said Thursday, in a bid to control energy prices that have spiked as the U.S. and allies imposed steep sanctions on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine. Biden was to formally announce the release in remarks on his administration’s plans to combat rising gas prices.

The average U.S. price of a gallon of regular-grade gasoline dropped 10 cents over the past two weeks to $4.27 per gallon as oil prices continue to "yo-yo," industry analyst Trilby Lundberg said Sunday.

The price at the pump was $1.32 above what it was one year ago, according to the Lundberg Survey taken Friday.

Nationwide, the highest average price for regular-grade gas was in Los Angeles, at $5.85 per gallon. The lowest average was in Tulsa, Oklahoma, at $3.52 per gallon.

According to the survey, the average price of diesel was $5.13 per gallon, down 2 cents over two weeks.

Lundberg said prices dropped dramatically in the past two weeks, in part because higher prices reduced demand during the second half of March.

However, the drop isn't predictive of further declines because among other things, the global oil supply is tight due to a dip in output last month by OPEC, Lundberg said.

The war in Ukraine also has sparked global uncertainty. The U.S. has banned all Russian energy supplies but Lundberg said sanctioned Russian oil is still finding "big buyers like India and China happy to pay discount prices."

In a bid to reduce spiking energy prices, President Joe Biden last month ordered the release of 1 million barrels of oil per day from the nation’s strategic petroleum reserve for six months.

On Thursday, the International Energy Agency said that its member countries are releasing 60 million barrels of oil from their emergency reserves on top of previous United States pledges.

The Paris-based organization says the new commitments made by its 31 member nations, which include the U.S. and much of Europe, amount to a total of 120 million barrels over six months, the largest release in the group’s history.

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