Biden: "Allies Join Strategic Oil Reserve Release... United Against Putin"

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy New York=Special Correspondent Joselgina] U.S. President Joe Biden announced on the 1st (local time) that more than 30 countries have agreed to participate in releasing strategic oil reserves to stabilize international oil prices. The price of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil fell below $100.

In a White House speech that day, President Biden said, "I have been coordinating the release of strategic reserves with partner countries and allies around the world," and added, "This morning, more than 30 countries worldwide convened an emergency meeting and agreed to release tens of millions of additional barrels into the market."

This is interpreted as referring to the International Energy Agency (IEA) holding a ministerial meeting in Paris, France, on the same day and deciding to release strategic reserves.

Earlier, President Biden announced the previous day that he would release an additional one million barrels of strategic reserves daily for six months. He also added that IEA allies agreed to release between 30 million and 50 million barrels.

Amid soaring international oil prices following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the participation of allied countries in releasing strategic reserves following the U.S. is seen as emphasizing America's leading role. South Korea also decided to release strategic reserves.

President Biden also emphasized that countries around the world are uniting to reject Russian President Vladimir Putin's ability to weaponize energy resources.

Following this news, oil prices fell below $100 per barrel that day. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, the May West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil price closed at $99.27 per barrel, down $1.01 (1%) from the previous session. This is the first time since the 16th of last month that the closing price fell below $100 per barrel. The WTI price fell about 13% over the week, marking the largest decline since April 2020.

On the same day, President Biden evaluated the U.S. economy as progressing, referring to the March employment report released by the Department of Labor showing an unemployment rate of 3.6%, close to pre-pandemic levels. He emphasized that since taking office in January last year, he has created 7.9 million jobs, and that he is the first president to create such a scale of jobs within 14 months of inauguration.

He also reaffirmed his intention to resolve inflation, which has soared to the highest level in 40 years, calling it "good news in easing supply shortages and fighting inflation." President Biden added that next year's budget, including the so-called 'billionaire income tax,' will help address the fiscal deficit and inflation.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.