The Trump administration has decided against using the Treasury Department to intervene in oil futures trading, according to a Bloomberg News report published Friday that cited an unnamed source with knowledge of the discussions.
While administration officials had considered involving the Treasury Department in market operations, they ultimately concluded that such intervention would have minimal impact on oil prices, the report indicated.
Oil prices worldwide have surged since hostilities with Iran began Saturday, with the expanding conflict causing disruptions to Middle Eastern oil supplies. However, prices dropped Thursday for the first time in nearly a week after reports emerged suggesting possible U.S. market intervention.
According to Bloomberg News, officials also showed reluctance to immediately utilize the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, noting that the reserve currently sits at approximately 60% capacity.
Neither the White House nor Treasury Department provided immediate responses to requests for comment after business hours, and Reuters was unable to independently confirm the Bloomberg report.
On Thursday, a senior White House official had indicated that Treasury was expected to soon unveil measures designed to address climbing energy costs resulting from the Iran conflict, potentially including oil futures market actions.
The official, who requested anonymity when discussing internal deliberations, declined to elaborate on specific details of the proposed plan, stating they preferred not to preempt any Treasury announcement.
