"President Donald Trump ordered U.S. energy officials to purchase “large amounts” of oil to fill up the nation’s emergency reserve after the biggest price crash in a generation.

Replenishing the Strategic Petroleum Reserve -- as proposed by some oil lobbyists earlier this week in light of the collapse in prices -- would enable the government to take as much as 77 million barrels off the world market.

Oil prices jumped late Friday after Trump’s announcement, paring their worst weekly performance since 2008. Still, the purchases are unlikely to offset the supply boost major producers such as Russia and Saudi Arabia have promised in the coming month."

Stephen Cunningham, Jennifer A Dlouhy, and Ari Natter report for Bloomberg March 13, 2020. [2]

SEE ALSO:

"Trump's Budget Proposes Sale From Emergency Oil Reserve" (Reuters) [3]

"Sanders, Democrats Decry Possibility Of Assistance To Oil Companies Amid Coronavirus Outbreak" (The Hill) [4]