Breaking news: Oil is under pressure as the US offers up to 40 million barrels from teh strategic oil reserve.US SPR levels are at 284 million barrels as of Sept 2026, marking the lowest level since 1982. There has been a release of 172 million barrels since the US started the war in Iran but much of that was via a sale-and-buyback with barrels slated to start returning late this year. Instead, it looks like the US will be selling again.This isn't a big surprise given the way the political winds are blowing around the midterms and the increasing pain at the pumps. The operational minimum for the SPR is said to be in the 250-300 million range and Federal law sets the minimum at 252 million. However, lately the idea of 'legal limits' is more theory than practice so we will see what happens. There is a fair argument that the US doesn't need strategic reserves anymore and can blow the whole thing out as it's a large producer but the usage of them during this conflict tends to argue for the opposite. This article was written by Adam Button at investinglive.com.