America is dealing with the painful reality of higher fuel costs, diesel prices in particular. Now, the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, the depletion of which had been helping to hold prices down, is getting very low. You can see in my chart that levels in the reserve are nearing their all-time lows.
How low can the Strategic Petroleum Reserve go? It’s not a game of limbo, but there is a functional limit to how far the U.S. can draw down the reserve before problems start to arise. A Department of Energy spokesperson told MarketWatch that caverns where the reserve is kept have a “conservative operational minimum of about 70 million barrels.”
Energy Secretary Chris Wright has said that the Trump administration will begin refilling the SPR. Wright told Bloomberg TV, “It’ll start being refilled in the next few months. Remember, the oil we released, none of it was sold. It was all swapped with delivery dates and delivery amounts agreed in those contracts. So that oil will start going in. The oil problem is going to fade away.”
Action Line: Until that refill happens, America will be runnin’ on empty. Click here to subscribe to my free monthly Survive & Thrive letter.
