US buying 3M barrels of oil to start replenishing reserves

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Biden administration says the U.S. is buying 3 million barrels of oil to begin to replenish U.S. strategic reserves that officials drained earlier this year to fight inflation.

The oil was drained in a bid to stop gasoline prices from rising amid production cuts by OPEC and a ban on Russian oil imports. President Joe Biden withdrew 180 million barrels from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve starting in March, bringing the stockpile to its lowest level since the 1980s.

Officials say the new purchase will begin in January, with additional purchases likely to follow.