Announcement is in parallel with other major energy consuming nations, including China, India, Japan, Republic of Korea, and the United Kingdom

Over the last 18 months, the COVID-19 pandemic forced an unprecedented global economic shutdown. As the world is re-opening from a near economic standstill, countries across the globe are grappling with the challenges that arise as consumer demand for goods outpaces supply. But here in the United States, the economic recovery is stronger and faster than anywhere else in the world - according to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, the US is the only one of the major economies to have returned to pre-pandemic gross domestic product levels - in large part due to President Biden's American Rescue Plan, which funded and facilitated a nationwide vaccination program, provided resources to schools and small businesses to keep them open in the face of COVID waves and put money in the pockets of those hit hardest by the pandemic. As a result of the strong recovery in the United States, Americans have nearly $100 more per month in disposable income in their pockets this year, even as COVID has continued to complicate the economic recovery around the world. Even so, American consumers are feeling the impact of elevated gas prices at the pump and in their home heating bills, and American businesses are, too, because oil supply has not kept up with demand as the global economy emerges from the pandemic. That's why President Biden is using every tool available to him to work to lower prices and address the lack of supply. Today, the President is announcing that the Department of Energy will make available releases of 50 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to lower prices for Americans and address the mismatch between demand exiting the pandemic and supply."

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Assignment

1. Draw a supply and demand curve. Label the curves, (original supply and original demand) and the axis (quantity and price).
2. On the same graph draw how the Biden Administration's plan of releasing oil from the Petroleum Reserve will lower the market price of oil. Label the new line(s) added to the original curves as new supply and or new demand.

You may use excel to draw the graph, but you may also use pen and paper to draw the graph. Then take a picture of your graph and upload it to the assignment.