Indian and Japanese officials are working on ways to release national reserves of crude oil in tandem with the United States and other major economies to dampen prices, seven government sources with knowledge of the plans told Reuters.
Such an announcement could come as early as Tuesday, according to a source familiar with the discussions, but White House and U.S. energy department officials said no official decision on a release had been made.
U.S. President Joe Biden has asked China, India, South Korea and Japan for a coordinated oil stocks release as U.S. gasoline prices soar and his approval ratings slump ahead of next year's congressional elections.
The U.S. government has been unable to persuade OPEC+ to pump more oil, with major producers arguing the world was not short of crude.
OPEC and other producers including Russia, known collectively as OPEC+, have been adding around 400,000 barrels per day to the market on a monthly basis, but have resisted Biden's calls for more rapid increases, arguing the rebound in demand could be fragile.
The threat of a coordinated release, along with new coronavirus-related lockdowns in Europe, has knocked the wind out of crude oil's rally. Brent crude was lately trading at $79.30 a barrel, down more than $7 from a peak reached in late October.