Trump's request to Saudi shows US has limited options to lower gas prices: report

US President Donald Trump’s request to Saudi Arabia asking it to increase oil production reflects the limited options available with the president to bring down fuel prices ahead of the elections, Bloomberg said in a report on Monday.

President Trump tweeted on Saturday that King Salman had agreed to produce more oil, but the White House later clarified that Saudi Arabia had said it has spare capacity and can raise oil production if needed.

The White House, however, did not deny that President Trump had made the request to increase production.

Gasoline prices have remained a campaign tool for political parties in the US, the news agency said.

According to the Energy Information Administration, US retail unleaded gasoline, including taxes, is about 55 cents a gallon higher than at this same time last year.

In an interview to Fox News Channel, Trump blamed OPEC for rising oil prices, noting that the cartel is “100 percent” manipulating the world market and “must stop.”

“They have to put out another 2 million barrels in my opinion,” he said, adding that his “very good relationship” with the Saudi king and Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman would help get the result he wants, Bloomberg report said.

President Trump, meanwhile, has few other short-term options to help lower gasoline prices, other than reversing some major foreign policy efforts, including the sanctions instituted on Venezuela.

He could also influence domestic prices by tapping the nation’s emergency oil reserves, but the Strategic Petroleum Reserve was established to protect against supply disruptions, and any move to sell that stockpiled crude merely to lower prices could draw criticism, the news agency noted.

Meanwhile, the White House has backed off from Trump’s implication that he has persuaded Saudi Arabia to increase output by up to 2 million barrels a day.

Oil prices have edged up since OPEC and its non-member allies, including Russia, agreed to curtail output starting January last year.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, topped $80 a barrel in mid-May, the highest level since November 2014 and was last trading at $78.53 a barrel on Monday.