President Joe Biden made history Tuesday in hopes of easing the pain at the pump.
He announced the largest single release of oil from the nation's strategic oil reserve. The question now is will it help in the Bay Area, and if so, when?
Right now, the average price per gallon in the Bay Area is $4.70.
Local economists believe we will start seeing some relief at the pump, but it will take about five weeks.
"Now, the price of oil is about $77 a barrel," Cal State University East Bay lecturer Farhad Sabatan said. "That could come down to maybe $75, and roughly speaking we may hit, hopefully, $4.50, $4.60 a gallon."
They say that will only be temporary.
"Demand for oil is up," Sabatan said. "The supply on the other hand has been low. Therefore, this is going to continue for a while, and the release of the SPR – the Strategic Petroleum Reserve – is not going to solve that problem."
Biden also said he's asking the Federal Trade Commission to look into the sizable gap between wholesale and retail gas prices to make sure gas companies aren't simply keeping prices high to increase profits.
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