Washington—Arguing that the White House is almost certainly considering selling oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, Barclays Capital said two price thresholds might trigger such a release: the US gasoline average crossing $4/gallon or Brent crude hitting $120/barrel. “With the presidential election now less than three months away, it is inconceivable to us that a SPR release is not being actively considered,” Paul Horsnell, head of Barclays’ commodities research, wrote in an August 22 report. “It would be very surprising indeed if every bureaucratic and technical preparatory measure that is required up to the final declaration of a release was not either already in progress or had already been accomplished.”
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