"I will continue to do everything I can to bring down the price of gas," Biden said in a statement released by the White House. "I will continue my historic release of oil from our strategic petroleum reserve."
A gallon of unleaded gasoline, the most in-demand fuel product at US pumps, averaged $4.63 on Wednesday, versus the record high of $5.01 a month ago. US crude oil prices, meanwhile, have fallen 20% from around $120 a barrel a month ago to just under $100 now.
Skyrocketing prices for gas, food and rent sent US inflation to a new four-decade high in June. Compared with a year earlier, consumer prices jumped 9.1%, the biggest yearly increase since 1981, and up from an 8.6% hike in May.
Biden called the inflation figures "unacceptably high," but insisted they did not reflect recent improvements.
"While today's headline inflation reading is unacceptably high, it is also out-of-date," Biden said in a statement. "Today's data does not reflect the full impact of nearly 30 days of decreases in gas prices."
Hours before the release of the latest consumer price index, the White House earlier said it expected June inflation data to be "highly elevated."
According a Politico report, Biden’s trip to the Middle East on July 13-16 would not help lower gas prices, despite his hopes. The outlet said that despite the fact that Saudi Arabia has the second-largest oil reserves in the world, the kingdom does not have a lot more oil to give as it is struggling to meet its own production targets. It would also need to agree with other OPEC+ countries before releasing more oil.
Biden is expected to address the soaring energy prices during his meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman - the first face-to-face meeting between the two leaders. However, Biden has insisted on multiple occasions that he is not planning to ask the Saudis to increase oil production amid soaring gas prices in the United States and around the world.