U.S. WTI crude closed down 3.1% on October 18 It is rumored that the United States will release more strategic oil reserves

In the early morning of October 19, Beijing time, the price of U.
S.
WTI crude oil futures closed lower
on Tuesday.
News that the United States will release strategic crude oil reserves weighed on
oil prices.

According to people familiar with the matter, the Biden administration will announce the release of another 10 million to 15 million barrels of oil from the national emergency reserve in recent days to balance the market and prevent gasoline prices from climbing
further.

Since the spring of this year, Biden has proposed a plan to release 180 million barrels of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, and this week's announcement may be the latest part
of it.
At the same time, the Biden administration may also release relevant details
about replenishing emergency reserves.

The sources also revealed that U.
S.
Department of Energy and White House officials have been quietly meeting this week with executives of oil majors such as ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips to inform them of possible changes in the near future and to ask them to increase gasoline and diesel production
.

In addition, US President Joe Biden will deliver a speech
on gasoline prices on Wednesday.

On Tuesday (Oct.
18), West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures for November delivery fell $2.
64, or 3.
1 percent, to close at $82.
82 a barrel, the lowest close since Sept.
30
.

Natural gas futures for November delivery closed down 4.
2 percent at $
5.
7450 per million British heat.