White House Aide Denies Agreement to Release Oil Reserves

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“The U.S. and U.K. haven’t agreed on a release of oil from strategic stocks, according to an Obama administration official.

A report that the two nations will cooperate in an effort to cut rising gasoline prices is inaccurate, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private deliberations between President Barack Obama and U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron at the White House yesterday.

Obama and Cameron discussed oil supplies and use of the strategic reserve without reaching any decision, a U.K. official with knowledge of the talks said.

Crude oil for April delivery dropped 37 cents, or 0.4 percent, to $105.06 a barrel at 12:15 p.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The price dropped to $103.78 after Reuters reported that the U.K. has decided to cooperate with the U.S. in a bilateral agreement to release strategic oil supplies.

The national average retail price of unleaded regular gasoline in the U.S. climbed to $3.821 a gallon yesterday, according to a daily survey by the American Automobile Association (3AGSREG). That’s 7.5 percent higher than a year ago, according to AAA’s survey.

Rising gasoline prices have opened a line of attack by Republican presidential candidates, as higher energy costs overshadow gains elsewhere in the economy, including the addition of 227,000 new jobs in February….”