France discussing strategic oil release with U.K., U.S.

France is in talks with the United States and Britain on a possible release of strategic oil stocks to push fuel prices lower, French ministers announced this morning, four weeks before the country’s presidential election. As reported by Reuters, France’s Energy Minister Eric Besson told journalists after the weekly ministers’ meeting that the United States has asked France to join it in a possible emergency inventory release. Earlier in March, British sources said London was prepared to cooperate with the United States on a release of strategic oil stocks that was expected within months, in a bid to prevent fuel prices from choking economic growth. Such a release could happen “in a matter of weeks,” French newspaper Le Monde reports, citing presidential sources. “It is the United States which has asked, and France has welcomed favourably this hypothesis,” Besson says. He also said that the countries were awaiting conclusions from the International Energy Agency, which coordinates emergency stock releases in case of severe oil supply disruption.