By Jarrett Renshaw

(Reuters] – An official from the White House said Monday that it is currently considering a request for an emergency declaration to let diesel out of a small, but still useful stockpile to alleviate a serious supply shortage and curb rising costs.

U.S. President Joe Biden declared that the top priority for his administration is to tackle high prices and inflation.

As of Sunday, the national average diesel price was $5.56 per gallon. This is less than last week’s record $5.58, which AAA reported. The price of diesel has increased 75% compared to last year.

The White House may tap the Northeast Home Reserve. It was created in 2000 as a supply-supporting reserve. However, it was only used once after Hurricane Sandy in 2012.

The impact from such a release would be limited by the relatively small size of the reserve, which only contains 1 million barrels of diesel — equal to about a day’s worth of supply in the region.

The U.S. distillate inventory dropped to 105.3 million barrels two weeks ago. However, the stock of U.S. East Coast distillate stocks fell to an all time low on May 6. But, they rebounded in the week that followed to 22.5 million barrels.