WASHINGTON, Nov. 22 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Joe Biden is preparing to announce a release of oil from the nation's Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) as soon as Tuesday to lower gasoline prices, local media reported on Monday.

The move, likely in conjunction with India, Japan and South Korea, would be an unprecedented effort by major oil consumers to tame prices after the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, collectively known as OPEC+, rebuffed U.S. calls to significantly boost production, Bloomberg News reported, citing people familiar with the plan.

The situation remains in flux and the plans could change but the U.S. is considering a release of more than 35 million barrels of oil over time, the report said.

The report came as the Biden administration is under pressure to release oil from the SPR as U.S. gasoline prices and inflationary pressures have climbed in recent weeks.

"The price of crude oil accounts for about 50%-60% of what consumers pay at the pump, so a lower oil price should translate into better gasoline prices for drivers," Andrew Gross, spokesperson of the American Automobile Association (AAA), said Monday in a statement.

"But until global oil production ramps back up to pre-pandemic levels, this recent dip in the price of crude may only be temporary," Gross said.

The national average price for a gallon of regular gasoline has been hovering around a seven-year high and was 3.40 U.S. dollars as of Monday. That was 1.29 dollars more than a year ago, and 81 cents more than in 2019, according to the AAA.

The SPR, the world's largest supply of emergency crude oil, was established by the U.S. federal government in the 1970s primarily to reduce the impact of disruptions in supplies of petroleum products.

As of Nov. 19, the SPR held 604.5 million barrels of crude oil, including 352 million barrels of sour crude and 252.5 million barrels of sweet crude, according to the U.S. Energy Department. Enditem

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