China is releasing crude from its strategic reserves days after US President Joe Biden requested big oil-consuming nations to join in efforts to curb prices. Biden and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping had discussed the move during a virtual meeting this week. Washington has been lobbying Asian nations, including China, Japan, South Korea, and India, to tap reserves after OPEC+ resisted calls from consumers for extra supply.
Biden is facing growing political pressure and a declining approval rate due to rising fuel prices and other consumer costs. US gasoline prices averaged $3.41 per gallon recently, climbing over 60% from a year earlier as the US economy recovered from the COVID-19 pandemic. Meanwhile, China, the world’s largest oil importer, is struggling with an energy shortage and rising commodity prices.
China’s reserve bureau said it would provide more details regarding the volume of oil and the date of its auction. Earlier this year, the bureau offered 7.4 million barrels of oil from its reserves in its inaugural public auction. That is equal to less than a day’s worth of the country’s crude imports.
