US Taps Reserve for 17 Million More Barrels as Fuel Crisis Persists

The United States is putting another 17 million barrels from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve up for sale, according to a report citing OilPrice.com, as the country's fuel crisis deepens. The SPR is the government's emergency oil stockpile, and repeated releases from it point to persistent tightness in fuel markets rather than a one-off shortfall. Separately, the Financial Times reported that President Trump exempted Russia from further sanctions mandated by a new law, giving President Putin a reprieve on threatened energy measures after a deal with Moscow to release diesel supply. The two developments both touch the same underlying problem: tight diesel and fuel supply reaching consumers. It is not yet clear whether the Russian diesel release will meaningfully ease the US shortage that is prompting the SPR sales, or how much more reserve capacity Washington is willing to draw down if the crisis continues.