The president announced Tuesday that he would tap into 50 million barrels of emergency oil reserves. Will motorists notice during their Thanksgiving travels?<\/b>
\nPresident Joe Biden on Tuesday ordered the release of oil from emergency reserves in an effort to quell rising gas prices ahead of the holiday season. However, experts say Americans may not notice much of a difference at the pumps when they’re on the road for Thanksgiving celebrations. \u00ab\u00a0It’s unlikely to have an immediate impact by Thanksgiving,\u00a0\u00bb Devin Gladden, a spokesperson for the American Automobile Association (AAA), told Newsweek. \u00ab\u00a0Although we will see some incremental decreases, we’re not expecting this to have a long-term impact. But it certainly will have an impact.\u00a0\u00bb China, India, Japan, South Korea and the United Kingdom have also all committed to opening up their oil reserves in an effort to help fight global oil prices. Gladden said how the market will be affected will depend, in part, on how much and when those countries join the effort. \u00ab\u00a0It’s not a sustained increase in production, and so the impact will likely be short-lived,\u00a0\u00bb Gladden explained. Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at the fuel price-tracking site GasBuddy, told Newsweek it will be hard to predict exactly when prices will decrease. \u00ab\u00a0I will say the price of oil has been declining ahead of this release,\u00a0\u00bb De Haan said. It had been widely expected that the President would make this release, so oil prices in the last week have seen about an $8 loss a barrel, maybe about $7.\u00a0\u00bb He noted that there’s a \u00ab\u00a0possibility\u00a0\u00bb that motorists could see somewhat of a decline over the next few days, \u00ab\u00a0but it’s hard to know.\u00a0\u00bb \u00ab\u00a0Stations, knowing that millions of Americans are hitting the road, may be a little bit reluctant to pass the decrease along until after the holidays, simply because they can make a little bit more money,\u00a0\u00bb De Haan said. \u00ab\u00a0Conceivably, if stations did pass along the price fluctuation or the drop in price, we would see a nice decline going into Thanksgiving, but my suspicion is that they probably will hold on to the additional margin until the holiday is over.\u00a0\u00bb Biden touched on these same concerns when he announced the release of the barrels in a Tuesday speech. \u00ab\u00a0The price of gasoline in the wholesale market has fallen by about 10 percent over the last few weeks, but the price of the pump hasn’t budged a penny,\u00a0\u00bb the president said. \u00ab\u00a0In other words, gas supply companies are paying less and making a lot more. They do not seem to be passing that on to the consumers at the pump.\u00a0\u00bb \u00ab\u00a0Instead, companies are pocketing the difference as profit. That’s unacceptable,\u00a0\u00bb Biden said. \u00ab\u00a0That’s why I’ve asked the Federal Trade Commission to consider whether potentially illegal and anti-competitive behavior in the oil and gas industry is causing higher prices for consumers, so we can assure the American people are paying a fair price for the gasoline.\u00a0\u00bb Any substantial action from the FTC could potentially take weeks. However, Gladden felt as though some short-term relief may be had for consumers before then. \u00ab\u00a0I think for the rest of this week we’ll see some minor fluctuations because that’s already what the market had baked in,\u00a0\u00bb he said. \u00ab\u00a0Then Monday, when everything gets back to the post-holiday normal, we could certainly see prices decline.\u00a0\u00bb \u00ab\u00a0But the amount? I don’t think people should expect to pay prices that are comparable to what they paid last holiday season,\u00a0\u00bb Gladden continued. De Haan said that if prices do go down, then \u00ab\u00a0there’s absolutely a hand that the president has played in that for now.\u00a0\u00bb Nonetheless, he said Biden could be \u00ab\u00a0sacrificing a potential longer-term solution for a shorter one.\u00a0\u00bb \u00ab\u00a0I think he’s genuine in saying \u00ab\u00a0I want to bring prices down,'\u00a0\u00bb De Haan said, adding that plan of going into the reserves \u00ab\u00a0is a Band-Aid on a problem that probably won’t go away anytime soon.\u00a0\u00bb The president indicated on Tuesday that fluctuations in gas prices will continue to be a struggle and asked Americans for their patience. \u00ab\u00a0While our combined actions will not solve the problem of high gas prices overnight, it will make a difference. It will take time, but before long, you should see the price of gas drop where you fill up your tank,\u00a0\u00bb Biden said.<\/p>\n