Will reserve oil ease pain at the pump?

President Joe Biden announced a new move to ease gas prices last week, releasing one million reserve barrels of oil a day. Gas still costs more than $4 per gallon throughout most of Southwest Florida as of Monday morning, but what does the future hold?

Many drivers are frustrated that they’re being forced to change their routines in order to save money on gas. Biden’s plan includes drawing reserve barrels from the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve held in underground salt caverns along the Texas and Louisiana coasts. The White House hopes the move could drop gas prices by around 35 cents per gallon.

When WINK News asked people in Cape Coral how are they managing the constant flux in gas prices, the consensus seemed to be that almost everyone is simply driving less.

“It’s ridiculous,” said Shanell Lehw. “I try not to go anywhere, I try not to do much, and if I do, it’s all in one trip.”

“I havent taken any trips, I just put $13 dollars in to take me to payday,” said Dennis Comolli. “It’s just really bad. I’m retired now, it’s really hurting, I think everybody’s feeling it.”

Thomas Smythe, an economist with the Department of Finance and Economics at Florida Gulf Coast University, says using these emergency stocks of oil now will have a long-term impact.

“Eventually, the government will have to repurchase that oil,” Smythe said. “I mean, the whole purpose is for crises. They’ll have to go back out into the oil market. And when they do, that will likely cause increases in all prices. The one thing that the government has on its side, in that regard, is it has an infinite time horizon.”

Experts say the president’s move could see prices start to fall in the coming weeks.