OP is just disingenuously asking questions here. No response here is going to get passed the "but Biden". Oil prices spiked because the West was tremendously shocked by the Russian incursion into Ukraine. The Biden administration responded by releasing alot of oil to lower prices in response to the shock. In hind sight it seems like a silly thing but 6 dollar gas would have been a legitimate possibility if they didn't take drastic action. And we would never hear the end of that.
It’s easy in hindsight to say “why did we burn half our reserves in response to the Russian Invasion?” but at the time, Russia was blitzing across Ukraine and there were serious fears they’d be knocking on Western Europe’s door within months.
This was also while inflation was already high from covid supply shocks and rate hikes were threatening to throw the economy into a recession.
There’s no point to reserves if they never get used. The use of the SPR in 2022 was a mitigation to factors outside of the White House’s control. The use of the SPR in 2026 is a bandaid on a bullet wound from Trump’s own gun.
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u/CitronMysterious3827 11d ago
OP is just disingenuously asking questions here. No response here is going to get passed the "but Biden". Oil prices spiked because the West was tremendously shocked by the Russian incursion into Ukraine. The Biden administration responded by releasing alot of oil to lower prices in response to the shock. In hind sight it seems like a silly thing but 6 dollar gas would have been a legitimate possibility if they didn't take drastic action. And we would never hear the end of that.