Ahead of elections, Biden announces steps to reduce gas prices in U.S.

Biden, in a major policy speech, reiterated that Russian President Vladimir Putin was responsible for the hike in energy prices in the U.S.

Ahead of the crucial mid-term polls, U.S. President Joe Biden has announced a slew of measures to lower gas prices, which have been hurting the middle class.

Mr. Biden, in a major policy speech, reiterated that Russian President Vladimir Putin was responsible for the hike in energy prices in the U.S..

“When the price of gas goes up, other expenses get cut. That's why I have been doing everything in my power to reduce gas prices since Putin's invasion of Ukraine caused these prices to spike and rattled international oil markets,” he said in a speech.

Mr. Biden said the Department of Energy will release another 15 million barrels from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, extending the previously announced release, through the month of December.

He said independent analysts have confirmed that drawdowns from the reserves so far have played a big role in bringing down oil prices. So, we're going to continue to responsibly use that national asset, he said.

Right now, the Strategic Petroleum Reserve is more than half full with about 400 million barrels of oil. That's more than enough for any emergency drawdown, he said.

“With my announcement today, we're going to continue to stabilise markets and decrease the prices at a time when the actions of other countries have caused such volatility,” he said.