The American president had announced Thursday that he would withdraw for six months 1 million barrels per day in the immense strategic oil reserves of the United States, unheard of.
US President Joe Biden assured Friday that “more than 30 countries” would follow the United States and draw on their strategic oil reserves in an attempt to lower prices.
Referring to an initiative by the International Energy Agency (IEA), Joe Biden said: “This morning more than 30 countries came together for a special meeting and decided to put tens of millions of barrels of additional oil on the market.
The Democratic president announced on Thursday that he would withdraw 1 million barrels a day for six months from the immense strategic oil reserves of the United States, a never-seen-seen.
Joe Biden is struggling to try to stem the surge in prices at the pump, which is exasperating American households and from which the Republican opposition is making its honey in the campaign for the November legislative elections.
The American president, who is trying to blame the phenomenon on the invasion of Ukraine and therefore on Vladimir Putin, also does not spare his criticism of the American oil industry, which he accuses of accumulating profits gargantuan without investing in production.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine has boosted oil prices sharply, while producing countries also continue to restrict their supply.
The producing countries of OPEC + (an alliance that includes Russia) agreed on Thursday to a new modest opening of their black gold valves, ignoring calls to ease pressure on prices.
On March 7, oil had approached its historic highs from the 2008 financial crisis. Brent from the North Sea, the reference for black gold in Europe, peaked at 139.13 dollars a barrel and the American WTI touched the $130.50.
Prices have since slipped from their peaks, with a barrel around 100 dollars on Friday.
