ENERGY/OIL/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “U.S. and Western officials are considering an eventual emergency release of stockpiled oil if new supplies can’t prevent another sharp rise in prices, according to people familiar with the matter. The Trump administration is actively assessing whether to dip into the country’s emergency oil stocks while it simultaneously pushes other countries to boost their output, according to people familiar with the matter. The discussions are part of a broader effort to ensure oil markets remain well supplied amid a host of production disruptions around the world, and rising global demand. Any draw down of the so-called Strategic Petroleum Reserve isn’t imminent, according to people familiar with the matter. Such releases have been rare, and typically only as a last resort. The current discussions about such a move—while preliminary—-underscore growing worry among consuming nations over supplies. OPEC and Russia have committed to pumping more crude to ease markets, but a host of global production constraints—and rising demand—have raised questions about whether that new oil will be enough. Some senior Trump advisers are strongly opposed to the idea, and the administration is primarily concerned with keeping its options open, according to people familiar with the matter.”
–Benoit Faucon and Timothy Puko, “U.S. and Allies Consider Possible Oil-Reserve Release,” The Wall Street Journal, July 13, 2018 4:13 pm