(Bloomberg) -- The Biden Administration is waiting on a report Tuesday that details the government’s outlook on energy prices, consumption and supply before deciding whether to tap the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to counter high gasoline prices.

The Short Term Energy Outlook, put out monthly by the Energy Information Administration, is watched closely by traders and policy makers. Last month the report predicted that gasoline and crude prices would start to decline next year as the oil market returns to a surplus.  

Since the report came out on October 13, U.S. benchmark crude oil has topped $85 a barrel as global demand has recovered far more swiftly from the pandemic in contrast to energy production. 

Here’s a look at what the STEO said in October:

U.S. regular gasoline retail prices would average $3.21 per gallon in October before declining to $3.05 per gallon in December. Prices at the pump are currently averaging $3.42 per gallon, according to AAA.

The government forecast the average West Texas Intermediate and Brent crude prices in 2022 would fall to $68.24 a barrel and $71.91 a barrel, respectively.

The government predicts that output will rise to 11.7 million barrels a day in 2022, that’s still much lower than the nearly 13 million barrels the nation was producing in early 2020.

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