During the course of July, the average cost per-gallon of gasoline jumped almost 30 cents according to AAA in one month and could have major implications for President Biden as the campaign season is ramping up.
Currently, the average nationwide price for a gallon of gasoline is $3.83 which was $3.53 just one month ago. According to AAA, we haven’t seen prices climbing this high since October 2022 which is a big problem for Biden. At this time last year, Americans were paying slightly higher prices at $4.07 in August but still lower than the ridiculous all time high of $5.01 per gallon in June 2022.
When Biden took office, the Trump administration had gas prices down to record lows and the United States was a net exporter of oil. Biden began his presidency with gas prices hovering around $2.18 per gallon and via numerous regulations, the United States is no longer energy independent and gas prices are ticking higher and higher.
OPEC+ continues its planned production cuts spearheaded by Saudi Arabia and Russia which has also led to the dramatic rise in prices. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, high summer temperatures have also contributed to increased demand for energy and in turn jumping the price of gas.
During the last midterm election season, gas prices were also soaring and Republicans slammed the administration for touting green policies, ultimately lining the pockets of his major donors and supporters. In response to the high prices at the pumps, Biden decided to release millions of barrels of oil from the strategic petroleum reserve (SPR) which did lower prices but left the reserve completely depleted taking “decades to refill” all for political gain.
Last week, the Biden administration was asked about refilling the SPR but decided against it because oil prices were rising and the market conditions weren’t in their favor. If the goal is to slow down the economy, then high oil and gas prices will bring it to a stand still which would only exacerbate the rise in inflation because it would cost American’s more to produce basically everything.
As the campaign season starts to heat up, what will Biden’s response be to higher oil and gas prices now? He can’t release anymore from the SPR. Maybe now American’s will see what his policies and regulations actually did to the energy market and overall economy.