Soaring gasoline prices forced the U.S. Department of Energy to make a move, but the top bank said: It's all a stunner

U.
S.
Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said this week that the U.
S.
(USA) could inject Strategic Petroleum Reserves (SPR) into the market or even ban oil exports
, as gasoline prices soared, according to Market Matrix (MarketMatrix.
net).
However, analysts say these actions will not do much to curb prices in the first place, and may even be counterproductive
.

Europe and Asia are facing real economic disruption from rising energy commodity prices, with soaring natural gas prices forcing power producers in the UK (GBR) to halt production and causing restrictions on industrial electricity use
in many parts of much of Eurasia.
The United States is not currently in such a terrible predicament, but prices are also rising
rapidly.
Patrick DeHaan, head of oil analysis at GasBuddy, said gasoline prices in the U.
S.
have been hovering near
their highest level since 2014.
On average, today's oil price is $3.
22/gallon
.
Rising gasoline, electricity and heating prices have made the Joe Bide administration nervous
.
But the Biden team has been sending mixed signals
.
This summer, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan urged the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to raise output to "support the recovery.
"

At the same time, Biden has been restricting the areas where domestic oil and gas producers can drill and prohibiting new oil and gas development leases
on federal lands.
Overall, U.
S.
producers have cut production to focus on optimizing their balance sheets
.
Since OPEC+ also controls production, the supply-demand imbalance has forced prices higher
.
Neither the Department of Energy nor the White House responded to inquiries
about the administration's energy policy.
Some analysts say selling SPR will only lead to a temporary drop in prices
.
Helima Croft, head of global commodity strategy at RBC Capital Markets, said: "There are inherent limitations
to using SPR to mitigate rising gasoline prices in the current situation.
The extra oil entering the market will not be converted into a large number of refined products, because refinery runs are already at a high level and will do nothing to curb the rise in fuel prices
.
Analysts at Goldman Sachs believe that selling SPR will only provide "modest and short-lived" relief and cut its year-end price target for Brent crude by $3 to $87
.
And an oil export ban could actually lead to the opposite of
what was intended.

Damien Kuvalin, an analyst at Goldman Sachs, wrote: "The export ban could create huge price distortions, and U.
S.
export restrictions would push down WTI crude prices to balance the domestic market
.
" This will also have a knock-on effect
on the refined products market.
Ironically, since the U.
S.
will remain a net importer of gasoline, a relatively strong Brent oil price will push up import prices
.
”

RBC's Croft believes that in addition to limited or even counterintuitive price impacts, Biden's strategy could undermine its climate agenda
.
"We reiterate once again that the Biden administration is walking a very challenging tightrope as it tries to balance its desire to accelerate the energy transition while protecting consumers from the pain
of rising oil prices," she said.