A senior US official said the US oil would be “coming to market very soon” and that with other countries making their own coordinated releases of reserves, the total addition to daily supply will be “well in excess of the 1m barrels”.

The release dwarfs earlier uses of the strategic stockpile announced by the Biden administration in tandem with other countries on March 1 following the Russian invasion, and also last year in response to rising inflation.

Despite a strongly rebounding economy and rapidly receding pandemic, Mr Biden is getting little credit from voters who instead blame him for rising prices everywhere from the supermarket to car dealerships.

Supply chain snags related to the different pace of economic recoveries around the world are part of the inflation phenomenon. Also underlying the politically perilous trend, however, are ever higher fuel costs, which in turn push up prices for transport of almost all goods.

And for drivers, the price shock as they fill their tanks is a constant irritation.

Petrol prices now average $4.23 a gallon, 47pc higher than this time last year.

The price of US oil was down 4.6pc to about $103 a barrel, while Brent crude was down 5.5pc at $107 a barrel.

Oil prices surged to almost $140 a barrel earlier this month. Prices have retreated somewhat since the US banned Russian energy imports on March 8, but have largely lingered above $100 a barrel.

A senior US official said prices paid by motorists “right now are up almost $1 since Vladimir Putin accelerated his military buildup in January”.

“Russian oil supply is dropping and the price has increased. The president has said from the start that standing up to Putin’s aggression would never be painless, but he is committed to doing everything he can to help American families,” he added.