The United States has ordered another release of emergency oil reserves and is urging European nations to do the same. With less than two months remaining before the midterm elections, the Trump administration is striving to address surging fuel prices.

The US Department of Energy said in a statement that it will provide up to 40 million barrels of crude oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. This will be the final batch of the 172 million barrels the US pledged to contribute as part of a globally coordinated oil reserve release effort since the outbreak of the Iran war.

Energy Secretary Chris Wright criticized some European countries in the statement, saying they have fallen behind the US and Japan in participating in the effort organized by the International Energy Agency (IEA).

"Several European member states have released only a small portion of their pledged crude oil and petroleum products," Wright said. "We urge every member state to fulfill its commitments."