President Joe Biden's release of some 50 million barrels of oil from the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve is the largest ever.
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It comes as gas prices for this holiday are more than a dollar and 28 cents higher per gallon than they were this time last year.
"I used to put $30, $35 a tank, now I'm putting $50, $55 a tank. It's not fair," motorist Luis Cuevas said.
"We're retired, we're on a fixed income and eventually we'll say -- you know what kids, we'll have to Zoom the next holiday," traveler Steve Tannenbaum said.
Motorists in our area say high prices at the pump are impacting their decisions about driving.
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"Trying to do a little less driving, looking for a car that gets better gas mileage, smaller downsizing," motorist Lynda Alexander said.
Many have placed the blame on the president, and he is aware. So, Biden is working with several nations to pump up the worldwide gas supply.
"Today we're launching a major effort to moderate the price of oil an effort that will span the globe in its reach ultimately reach your corner gas station God willing," Biden said.
The hope is motorists will start to see some relief real soon.
"I think this is a very politically astute move to say -- look we're gonna address this whatever way we can," global economic analyst Rana Foroohar said.
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The president did say wholesale prices of gas have already started to decline and the high prices you still see at the pump are the result of oil companies profiting while motorists are feeling the pain.
"Gas supply companies are paying less and making a lot more and they do not seem to be passing it on to the consumers at the pump," Biden said.
The average price of a gallon of gas actually fell for the first time in months, according to the weekly tally by Gas Buddy released Tuesday.
The average national price declined 2.6 cents from the prior week to $3.40 per gallon, data from more than 11 million individual reports from more than 150,000 gas stations showed.
However, the price is still $1.28 per gallon higher than a year ago.
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