July 2 (Reuters) - The U.S. Department of Energy said on Tuesday it has completed awarding contracts for the sale of 1 million barrels of gasoline from the U.S.-managed stockpile in northeastern states to lower prices ahead of the Fourth of July holiday.

The invitation for bids was announced in May following a mandate for the sale under the U.S. funding legislation signed in March to close the Northeast Gasoline Supply Reserve.

CONTEXT

The energy department had created the supply reserve for the Northeast in 2014 after Superstorm Sandy created a supply shortage for gasoline. But closing of the reserve was mandated by the bipartisan legislation signed by President Joe Biden, as storing refined fuel is costlier than storing crude oil.

East Coast gasoline prices were up about 3 cents compared to last week at $3.39 per gallon after the week ended July 1, according to the Energy Information Administration data.

WHY IT IS IMPORTANT

Donald Trump, the Republican presidential candidate, had earlier said Biden was using the reserve to push down retail gasoline prices for political reasons.

The U.S. presidential election is due in November.

KEY QUOTE

"By releasing this reserve ahead of July 4th, we are ensuring sufficient supply flows to the Northeast," Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said.

BY THE NUMBERS

The American Automobile Association expects a record 60.6 million people to travel by car during the Independence Day week, a 4.8% rise compared to 2023.

The energy department said the barrels were sold at an average price of $2.34 per gallon to five companies, with BP getting 500,000 barrels, Vitol buying 200,000 barrels and Freepoint Commodities, Irving Oil and George E. Warren purchasing about 100,000 barrels each. (Reporting by Sourasis Bose in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar)