A sign displays gas prices at a gas station on May 21, 2024 in Chicago, Illinois. Scott Olson | Getty Images The Biden administration's move to sell 1 million barrels of gasoline from a reserve in the Northeast is unlikely to have a substantial effect on pump prices as summer driving season gets underway, according to market analysts. The Department of Energy said Tuesday the sale would be timed to have a maximum impact on prices this summer with deliveries completed before the Fourth of July holiday.
But the barrels in the Northeast Gasoline Supply Reserve are equivalent to just 2.65 hours of total U.S.
gasoline consumption and two or three days in the areas where the gas is stored, said Patrick de Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy. "It's not going to be a huge needle mover," de Haan said, though the sale could provide 5 cents to 10 cents of relief in the Northeast where the gasoline market is historically tight. "This is not going to be huge party at the pump," the analyst said.
The motorist association AAA agrees, with spokesman Andrew Gross saying the sale might "help stave off any regional pump price surges, but likely won't move the national average that much." Gas prices trending lower Oil prices surged last month as Israel and OPEC member Iran stood on the brink of war, raising concern at the White House that gasoline prices could jump heading into the summer. But gas prices have been trending lower for weeks now as demand has softened and U.
S. oil prices h.
