The US is a net petroleum exporter now, so using the stockpile for price stabilization is the right call. Using it to stabilize prices is actually good long te

The US is a net petroleum exporter now, so using the stockpile for price stabilization is the right call. Using it to stabilize prices is actually good long term thinking, because a quicker reduction in inflation will have far more long term benefits than the short term optics of liquidating a ""strategic asset"". The only risk of a strategic petroleum shortage in the US would be as the result of an attack on US infrastructure, and I don't see how the petroleum reserves wouldn't be the first target. So there isn't any strategic risk in reducing the stockpile. When it was created, the US was a massive petroleum importer - it was a strategic asset but not anymore.