Opinion
Experts are speaking out to warn that surging gas prices could lead to even more inflation as the 2024 election year continues.
Surging Gas Prices In Biden’s America
“Increases in the two most-consumed fuels are outpacing those for crude oil in some of the world’s most important markets,” Yahoo News reported. “U.S. gasoline futures have jumped sharply in recent weeks and are now up by more than a fifth so far this year, while diesel in Europe has risen 10%. Refiner profits are also above seasonal norms in many regions, a sign of tightness as the peak summer travel period approaches.”
“Interruptions to fuel production — a combination of scheduled work, unplanned outages and drone attacks on Russian facilities — have been lifting prices,” the publication continued. “They’ve come on top of higher shipping costs caused by Houthi attacks in the Red Sea and drought at the Panama Canal, as well as the supply-chain ructions spurred by Western sanctions on the Kremlin.”
Mukesh Sahdev, head of oil trading and downstream research at Rystad Energy AS, spoke out to warn that premium gasoline prices might reach a multi-year high this year.
“There’s not a lot President Biden can do in time for the election, if this happens” he explained. “Strategic petroleum reserves are low, and there are few levers for the US government to pull to lower gasoline prices.”
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Current Gas Prices In U.S.
In the U.S., the average gasoline pump price is now 60% higher than it was at the start of November of 2020, a fact that could have a major influence over the way that Americans vote. The nation’s stockpiles of both gasoline and diesel-type fuels are also well below seasonal norms, causing less of a supply-cushion than normal.
Nerd Wallet reported that the average regular gas price in the U.S. as of March 7 is $3.397 per gallon, which is about 8 cents higher than last week’s average, and the highest average national price since November. The current gas price is a 25-cent jump from last month’s average of $3.148 per gallon, and the national average has increased 31 cents since the start of 2024.
Last month, Moody’s Analytics found that surging gas prices could be what costs President Joe Biden the election later this year.
“Biden gets a small tailwind from the year-over-year decline in gasoline prices, but the expected late-2024 increase erodes much of the benefit,” Moody’s wrote, according to The Hill. “Having said this, forecasting oil prices is especially difficult, and if prices move up much more than anticipated, the damage to Biden’s re-election bid will quickly mount.”
Moody’s added that the former President Donald Trump will win the election if prices surge to $4 per gallon.
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States With Most Expensive Gas Prices
Live Now Fox reported that the top ten states with the most expensive gas prices are:
California ($4.88)
Hawaii ($4.70)
Washington ($4.20)
Nevada ($4.11)
Oregon ($3.93)
Illinois ($3.72)
Alaska ($3.70)
Arizona ($3.57)
Michigan ($3.56)
Pennsylvania ($3.52)
This all just goes to show what an economic nightmare it is to live in Biden’s America. As the year goes on, it will certainly be interesting to see what impact this has on the presidential election.
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