US President Joe Biden announced today, Saturday, that his administration has ways to deal with high oil prices after OPEC and its allies "OPEC Plus" (OPEC +) rejected US pleas for producers to pump more crude than already scheduled.

Biden said - when asked by a reporter at the White House whether he would authorize the sale from the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve after OPEC Plus ignored the pleas of the United States - "There are a large number of other tools that we should use with other countries at the appropriate time."

Oil prices exceeded $80 a barrel;

Resulting in higher fuel prices for consumers.

"They're going to pump more oil, but if they're pumping enough oil, that's different," Biden said, adding that his administration would discuss the issue.

US Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said the Energy Information Administration expects gasoline prices to fall to $3.05 a gallon in December, a level that the Strategic Reserve probably cannot support, she said, but she added that the outlook could change.

And she added that Biden will make decisions about the exploitation of the reserves located on the coasts of Texas and Louisiana.

The White House said - earlier - that it will study all tools available to it to ensure the provision of energy at reasonable prices, including the possibility of releasing quantities of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserves.


And the White House warned - earlier - the oil-producing countries against impeding the current global economic recovery, and Karen Jean-Pierre - Deputy White House spokeswoman - said that Washington will use all means to make sure of this.

She pointed out that OPEC and its allies (OPEC Plus) have the ability to put more oil on the market and influence gasoline prices, while the United States operates according to a system in which oil-producing companies make their decisions regarding supplies.

US President Joe Biden - last Sunday on the sidelines of the Group of Twenty summit in Rome - expressed his regret that "the abstention of Russia, Saudi Arabia and other major producers from pumping more oil (...) is not fair," directly targeting the "OPEC Plus" alliance.

Analysts expect the oil market to remain undersupplied for the remainder of the year.


And OPEC Plus agreed - at the first meeting yesterday, Thursday - to maintain a gradual increase in production by 400,000 barrels per day until the end of next December.

And OPEC announced on its website that the new meeting of the OPEC Plus alliance will be held on the second of next December.

Oil prices rose to their highest levels in several years this year, after major economies, including the United States and China, recovered from the Corona virus pandemic.

British Petroleum expected global demand to rebound above the pre-pandemic level of 100 million barrels per day.

A global energy crisis caused by a shortage of coal and natural gas has exacerbated the situation in the oil market.