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Crude oil prices are down more than 2% today on news that several countries are in talks to release their collective oil reserves in the next few months to jumpstart the global economy.
Oil prices dipped $2.35 to $105 a barrel early today after reaching as high as $107.62 on Tuesday.
While talks are preliminary, the U.S., U.K., Japan and France are in discussions to release their oil reserves possibly in the next three months. High oil prices are perceived to be stunting economic growth worldwide.
Light, sweet crude oil prices have been above $100 a barrel since mid-February, causing gas prices to soar. U.S. gas prices have vaulted to an average of $3.92 per gallon, up from an average of $3.59 a gallon on February 20 and a low of $3.19 a gallon in December. This is the most expensive a regular gallon of gasoline has been in the U.S. since last May.
If and when those four countries decide to release their oil reserves, the U.S., for one, may have more to release than it did before. The U.S. Energy Information Administration also announced today that U.S. oil stockpiles rose by 7.1 million barrels to a seven-month high last week. That too helped drive oil prices down today.