United States president, Joe Biden, has said his administration is releasing one million barrels of gasoline from a Northeast reserve established after Superstorm Sandy.

Jennifer Granholm, Energy secretary, confirmed this on Tuesday, saying the move was part of Mr Biden’s administration’s effort to lower pump prices this summer in the U.S. 

“The Biden-Harris administration is laser-focused on lowering prices at the pump for American families, especially as drivers hit the road for summer driving season.

“By strategically releasing this reserve between Memorial Day and July 4, we are ensuring sufficient supply flows to the tri-state (area) and Northeast at a time hardworking Americans need it the most,” Ms Granholm said in the statement. 

She added that the approach will create a competitive bidding process that ensures gasoline can flow into local retailers before the July 4 holiday and sell at competitive prices.

Also, Karine Jean-Pierre, the White House press secretary, said the gas release from the Northeast Reserve builds on Mr Biden’s actions.

The development will allow the sale from New Jersey and Maine storage sites to be allocated in increments of 100,000 barrels at a time. 

Mr Biden significantly drained the Strategic Petroleum Reserve in 2022 following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, dropping the stockpile to its lowest level since the 1980s. 

However, the election-year move helped stabilise gasoline prices that had been rising in the wake of the war in Europe.