50% Off! Beat the market in 2025 with InvestingProCLAIM SALE

U.S. House's Hoyer doesn't agree with call to tap oil reserve to lower gas prices

Published 17/11/2021, 04:06 am
© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: A maze of crude oil pipes and valves is pictured during a tour by the Department of Energy at the Strategic Petroleum Reserve in Freeport, Texas, U.S. June 9, 2016.  REUTERS/Richard Carson/File Photo
CL
-

By Susan Cornwell and Kanishka Singh

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said he is not in agreement with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer's call for tapping the strategic oil reserve to lower gas prices, saying he believed the reserve was there to be used if there is a collapse in supply in times of emergency.

"I'm not in agreement with that. I think that the Strategic Petroleum Reserve is not for a raise in prices, it's for a collapse in supply at times of emergency, i.e. a conflagration in the Middle East which essentially shuts off supply," Hoyer told reporters when asked if he agreed with Schumer's comments.

Schumer said on Sunday that President Joe Biden's administration should tap into emergency petroleum reserves to lower rising gasoline prices as Americans go into the holiday season.

Soaring gas prices and car sales drove a solid increase in U.S. producer prices in October as oil prices hit more than $80 a barrel, with OPEC and its allies rebuffing U.S. pleas for the producers to pump more crude.

Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said earlier this month that Biden could act, but there was still no word on whether he would authorize a sale from the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve, which is held in a series of caverns on the Texas and Louisiana coasts.

© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: A maze of crude oil pipes and valves is pictured during a tour by the Department of Energy at the Strategic Petroleum Reserve in Freeport, Texas, U.S. June 9, 2016.  REUTERS/Richard Carson/File Photo

Analysts have warned a release from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve would only produce a short-term effect, as it would not increase U.S. production capacity.

Earlier this month, 11 Senate Democrats urged Biden in a letter to tap the SPR and ban crude oil exports to lower gas prices, citing OPEC constraints on supplies and U.S. exports.

Latest comments

Risk Disclosure: Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.
© 2007-2024 - Fusion Media Limited. All Rights Reserved.