The Biden administration is preparing to release more oil from its strategic reserves in an effort to prevent any surge in oil prices this summer. Currently, the White House is trying to curb inflation before the 11 November US presidential election.

Amos Hochstein, US President Biden's closest energy advisor, said that gasoline prices "are still too high for many Americans" and that he would like to see oil prices "further reduced a bit". He told the Financial Times, "We will do everything we can to ensure that there is ample market supply to ensure American consumers can get the lowest possible price. I believe we have enough SPR." He is referring to the US strategic reserve oil.

As Biden tries to overcome voters' anxieties about his handling of the economy in the final five months before the election, his administration has pledged to take steps, including reining in medical costs and bank fees, to curb inflation. US inflation has fallen about 60% since hitting a multi-decade high in 2022.

However, any decision by Biden to extract more oil from the SPR in the coming months could anger Republicans, who accuse him of "politicizing and misusing" the stockpile.

According to data from the American Automobile Association, the average gasoline price in the US last Sunday was $3.45 per gallon, a slight decrease from a year ago but still more than 50% higher than when Biden took over as president from Trump in 2021. While his ability to influence prices is limited, many drivers blame the Democratic president for the rise in oil prices.

"I don't like Biden," said David Gonzales Broche, a 50-year-old Uber driver in Las Vegas, Nevada. "I'm spending $5 per gallon of gas. When Trump was in power, it was around $2 per gallon."

The former president made gasoline prices a part of his attack on Biden during his campaign for president, claiming that the Biden administration's clean energy and climate policies limited US oil production. Trump told supporters at a rally in Las Vegas last weekend, "We're going to drill, and we're going to bring those energy costs down for you."

However, US oil and gas production under Biden's leadership has reached new highs, and exports have exceeded the level during the Trump administration.

The SPR was set up almost half a century ago as a buffer against price spikes during supply disruptions. Biden announced the release of the reserve at the end of 2021 and again in 2022 as the Russia-Ukraine conflict led to rising gasoline prices.

OPEC+ has extended cuts this month to boost oil prices. Brent crude settled at $82.62 a barrel last Friday, up 7% in the past two weeks. Goldman Sachs expects Brent crude to reach $86 per barrel next quarter.

Bob McNally, former President George W. Bush's energy advisor and head of consulting firm Rapidan Energy, said, "Any president facing difficult re-election prospects, particularly with an economy that is fragile, will be worried about the risk of gasoline price surges."

In a letter to Energy Secretary Granholm last month, senior Republican politicians called on the Biden administration to "ensure that the SPR is not being abused for political purposes during this election year" and described Biden's release of the SPR in 2022 as a "transparent attempt to influence the midterm elections."

As Biden has depleted the SPR to its lowest level since 1983, his administration has been gradually replenishing strategic oil reserves, arguing that it has sold oil at higher market prices and purchased oil at lower levels, providing taxpayers with a good return. Hochstein said the government will continue to replenish the reserves until they need to be released again. He said,

"We will continue to purchase into next year until we feel that the SPR has the necessary amounts to meet its original energy security purpose."