The Biden Administration announced it will sell another 26 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) in an apparent effort to forestall a summer spike in gas prices. The move will reduce the SPR to its lowest levels since August 1983, roughly 346 million barrels. When Biden took office, the SPR was at 638 million barrels. Critical of the decision, Price Futures Group analyst Phil Flynn said, “By pushing barrels forward from previously announced sales he is robbing Peter to pay Paul but is discouraging future U.S. oil and gas investment. There should be some backlash from Republicans who are getting tired of using the SPR for political purposes and creating short-term price relief in exchange for much higher prices down the road.”
