Not a US problem. It is a global problem. Oil is not at $100 bbl because Biden is trying to influence demand by cutting supply. The problem is that the entire world went from 0 to 100 on the economic speedometer overnight, for all intents and purposes, and supply and supply chains are not keeping up.

And the US is not going to be left with its pants down in a looming crisis because of this release, which is coordinated with these other countries to make a show of effort to their citizens, and to send a signal in advance of next week’s OPEC+ meeting. I doubt there will be much relief from it, but it’s not some crazy reckless act either. It’s been in the works for weeks, fully coordinated with other world leaders, and I have almost no doubt that any president would be doing this, albeit largely for political and geopolitical reasons. Not expectations of real relief at the pump.