Iran war: Trump says he'll tap Strategic Petroleum Reserve to cut energy costs

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The Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) Bryan Mound storage facility located in Brazoria County, Texas, is one of four sites that make up the country’s oil reserve.

Str New | Reuters

President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he will tap the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to help lower energy costs during the Iran war.

“We’ll do that, and then we’ll fill it up,” Trump said in an interview with Cincinnati broadcaster WKRC.

“I filled it up once, and I’ll fill it up again, but right now, we’ll reduce it a little bit, and that brings the prices down,” the president said.

Gasoline prices in the U.S. have risen to about $3.58 per gallon on average as the Iran war has triggered a massive disruption of global oil supplies, according to motorist group AAA. The current retail price is nearly 22% higher than the same period last month when gas cost about $2.94.

Trump’s comments come after the International Energy Agency agreed Wednesday to release 400 million barrels of oil to address the supply disruption. It is the largest release in the more than 50-year history of the IEA.

The U.S. is a member of the IEA along with more than 30 other economies in Europe, North America and Northeast Asia.

The U.S. currently has 415 million barrels of oil in its strategic reserve, about 58% of the authorized capacity of 714 million barrels. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum told CNBC earlier Wednesday that Trump would ultimately decide whether the U.S. participates in the IEA action.

“I think what you’re hearing out of the IEA today is reasonable on their part, but clearly whether the U.S. participates is up to President Trump, he’ll make the final decision on that,” Burgum told CNBC’s “Power Lunch.”

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