WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – U.S. President Joe Biden will highlight the efforts of his administration to combat rising inflation on Tuesday. The White House is increasingly linking historic price increases to large profits for companies.

Biden’s Administration and the Federal Reserve have largely said that sharp rises in inflation early this year were temporary. But pressure to act has increased as price spikes continue into fall.

The Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics reported earlier this month that U.S. consumer prices in October posted their biggest annual gain https://www.reuters.com/business/us-consumer-prices-surge-weekly-jobless-claims-fall-2021-11-10 in 31 years, driven by large jumps in the cost of gasoline and other goods.

Biden is scheduled to deliver remarks at 2 pm EST (1900 GMT)

The White House on Tuesday announced plans https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/us-set-unveil-emergency-oil-release-bid-fight-high-prices-2021-11-23 to release millions of barrels of oil from strategic reserves in coordination with China, India, South Korea, Japan and Britain to cool prices after producers in the OPEC+ group repeatedly ignored calls for more crude.

Biden could also shine a light on the White House’s claims that companies are not passing savings onto consumers.

Jen Psaki was the White House press secretary and told journalists abroad Air Force One that “We will continue pressing oil companies which have made record profits” on Monday. It doesn’t take an economist to see that there is a problem when oil prices are falling or supply is low.

Psaki also emphasized the need for the Federal Maritime Commission’s free and fair competition to prevent excessive profits for ocean carriers. New data revealed that nine times as many companies operating in this sector earned profits in the third quarter of 2013 than last year.

Biden said last week that there is mounting evidence of anticonsumer behavior from oil and gas firms, which keeps fuel prices high. He asked the Federal Trade Commission for more information about possible illegal conduct in the market.

On Tuesday, the Democratic President may highlight his efforts to project stability in markets. This includes a Monday move to nominate Fed Chair Jerome Powell (a Republican) to another term at U.S. Central Bank despite opposition from progressive Democrats.