Biden on a mission to ease pump prices

US President Joe Biden will seek to salvage relations with Saudi Arabia in a Mideast trip that risks political embarrassment unless near-record US gasoline prices swiftly come back to Earth.

The hope is that restoring relations with Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, a leader he decried as a "pariah" after the murder of columnist Jamal Khashoggi, will secure a boost in oil production and help ease pump prices battering Biden's approval ratings at home.

For Biden, the biggest goal of the trip which started yesterday is convincing Gulf countries - led by the Saudis - to increase oil production in a bid to combat prices at the pump. White House officials say the US will only convey a general view to the Saudis and Gulf allies that there should be greater supply in global markets, rather than detailing a specific number of barrel.

The White House doesn't want to acknowledge how the energy situation has forced Biden's hand. And Saudi Arabia does not want to appear to be acting unilaterally on production, upsetting the delicate diplomacy that has held the Opec+ cartel together through the pandemic and Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Meanwhile, oil climbed after sliding below US$100 (HK$780) a barrel as choppy trading gripped the market before a US inflation print. West Texas Intermediate rose almost 1 percent yesterday after tumbling 7.9 percent in the previous session.