Biden authorizes release of 50 million barrels of oil from US reserve, hoping to combat spike in gas prices

• Gas prices are at a record high in the US, with demand outstripping supply.
• Biden authorized the release of 50 million barrels of oil from its reserve in a bid to lower prices.

The Biden administration is tapping the government's underground oil stockpile to fight soaring gas prices. It still might not be enough to help you at the pump.

President Joe Biden on Tuesday authorized the release of 50 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve in a bid to combat spiking gas prices.

"Today, the President is announcing that the Department of Energy will make available releases of 50 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to lower prices for Americans and address the mismatch between demand exiting the pandemic and supply," the White House said in a Tuesday statement.

The reserve — a network of underground oil storage — represents one of the few ways Biden can soften inflation as soaring prices rock the country. Prices surged through October at the fastest year-over-year pace since 1990, worsening fears that high inflation would become permanent. Much of the jump came from soaring energy prices, with gasoline leaping 6.1% last month alone.

The average price for a gallon of gas this month — $3.38 — was the highest since 2013, NBC News reported, citing the Energy Information Administration.

The network holds more than 600 million barrels of crude oil, which means the White House can release more oil as it sees fit. Still, relief won't be instant. The reserve stores crude oil, so it will take time for the product to be refined into gasoline. The US also used about 8 million barrels of gasoline a day last year. That indicates the release will be used up in about a week.

News of the release did little to calm the oil market. West Texas Intermediate crude futures — the benchmark oil price in the US — rose in Tuesday trading after the White House's announcement.

Other countries including China, India, Japan, South Korea, and the UK are also planning to release oil from their reserves, the White House said. The coordinated release hopes to lower gas prices around the world instead of supporting only one market.

Emergency releases from the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve often take place after unforeseen disruptions to oil supply. In 2017, the Trump administration released 5.2 million barrels of oil after Hurricane Harvey shut down crude-oil deliveries to the US.

Insider's Andy Kiersz reported the US demand for gas increased as the economy opened and Americans started driving more, while supply remains constricted because of lower US production and overseas oil exporters repeatedly agreeing to only modest increases in production.

Last week, Biden asked the Federal Trade Commission to look into the "mounting evidence of anti-consumer behavior by oil and gas companies." He cited soaring gas prices even as fuel costs declined.