The United States is expected to announce a loan of crude oil from its emergency stockpile on Tuesday as part of a plan it hashed out with major Asian energy consumers to lower energy prices, a Biden administration source familiar with the situation said.
The move is designed to tame soaring energy prices after the OPEC producer group and its allies rebuffed repeated requests from Washington and other consumer nations to pump more quickly to match rising demand.
U.S. President Joe Biden is facing low approval ratings due to high prices for gasoline and other consumer items in the recovery from the coronavirus pandemic, posing a threat to him and his Democratic party ahead of next year’s congressional elections.
