Petrol in the US

US President Joe Biden will give a speech at the White House on Thursday on measures to combat rising petrol prices in the United States. This is stated in the schedule of the US leader circulated by the White House on Wednesday.

Biden's speech will be devoted to the measures of his administration aimed at "reducing the impact of rising energy prices and lowering gasoline prices for American families," the document said. According to the US authorities' version, the fuel price hike is caused by Russia's actions.

Earlier on Wednesday, Bloomberg journalist Jennifer Jacobs, citing sources, reported that the Biden administration was considering releasing a million barrels of oil daily from the strategic reserve for several months.

The total amount of oil to be released from storage could reach 108 million barrels. For his part, The Washington Post reported that Biden is expected to announce the measures on Thursday.

Rising prices in the US

On 8 March, Biden signed an executive order banning energy imports from Russia and new investment in the Russian energy sector.

The US Treasury has set a deadline of 22 April to complete deals to import oil, petroleum products, LNG and coal from Russia into the country. However, gasoline prices at US gas stations began to rise markedly thereafter, even though inflation in the country had already been at a high level for a long time.

As the US Department of Labor reported on March 10, the consumer price index in the US reached 7.9% in February over the last 12 months, the highest level since January 1982.

On a monthly basis, consumer prices rose 0.8% in February. According to the Labor Ministry, gasoline, housing and food prices rose the most.

It is worth noting that, according to the agency, the cost of gasoline has recently repeatedly hit a historic high. On 29 March, the average price of fuel was $4.24 per gallon (3.785 litres) of Regular.