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After a brief dip, gas prices in the United States are on the rise again.
The U.S. average price for a gallon of gasoline rose 2-1/2 cents from last week to $3.09 per gallon on Monday, according to the travel and fuel price tracking app GasBuddy.
The national average is now almost 5 cents higher than a month ago and 92 cents higher than this time last year.
Gas in Indianapolis averaged $3.11 per gallon Monday, according to GasBuddy, up from $2.96 a week ago and $2.13 a year ago. Gas prices averaged about $2.75 per gallon in Indianapolis two years ago.
GasBuddy petroleum analyst Patrick De Haan says Americans should expect to pay even more at the pump heading into July 4th, a popular road trip holiday.
With the U.S. economy rapidly recovering from the 15-month-long coronavirus pandemic, demand for fuel is rising and pushing prices to levels not seen since 2014. And hurricane season always carries the prospect of higher prices if a storm affects oil drilling and refining on the Gulf Coast.
“Motorists should prepare to dig deeper for the second half of the summer, unfortunately,” De Haan said.
This month, the Energy Information Administration predicted gasoline would average $2.92 a gallon for the April-September summer driving season, up from $2.07 a gallon for the same period last year. For the full year, the EIA estimates regular gasoline will average $2.77 a gallon and U.S. households will spend $570 more on fuel than they did a year ago.
For consumers, higher gasoline prices are one element of an inflationary mix they’ve encountered as the economy recovers from the pandemic. Rising prices for commodities and materials have also boosted prices for such items as lumber, diapers, and meat and poultry.
The Federal Reserve is expecting many of these increases to be temporary. In an appearance before a House subcommittee last week, Fed Chair Jerome Powell cited “the pass-through of past increases in oil prices to consumer energy prices” as one factor behind the increase in inflation.
While prices for some commodities have reversed direction recently, oil has held its gains for the most part. On Monday, West Texas Intermediate crude fell $1.14 to $72.91 per barrel, but the price is still up 50% on the year.
The most common gas price motorists in the U.S. were likely to see was $2.89 per gallon, the same as last week, GasBuddy said.
States closest to the large Gulf Coast refinery hub had the lowest average prices per gallon, led by Mississippi at $2.71 and Louisiana at $2.72. The states with the highest prices per gallon were California at $4.27 and Hawaii at $3.96.
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YAWN. Biden killed the pipeline to pander to heavy donors like railroad owner Warren Buffet and radical, clueless environmentalists who would have us return to cave-dwelling…US, that is, not them. Simple enough. All the other “explanations” are frosting on that ugly cake.
This is a really lazy take that ignores the major demand declines during the pandemic and permanent losses in refining capacity (approx. 1.2 million barrels per day). Keystone XL wouldn’t have even been for U.S. consumption, it would have been for exports, years in the future. Its prices on Brent Crude futures would have been negligible.
Most all of Bob’s comments can be described by your first six words.
This isn’t the first comment I’ve seen from Mr. B.P. that’s immediately negative and conspiratorial that fit into a slim narrative that most conservatives I know in south-central Indiana don’t agree with. Except my uneducated sister and her “white rage on everything” hubby. It is sad to see lumber prices still riding so high due to lack of supply – even though the new President is working with Canada to reduce the increased tariff that President Trump slapped on them.
My equally lazy response is that the Trumpublican Party and associated media machine runs on grievance and anger. I’ve seen the Fox News watched by family members. Appears to me that if you watch enough of it and you’re convinced that you yourself are under continual attack from “those people” and everything is going to hell.
Blaming Biden for higher gas prices, when gas prices go up every summer due to increased demand, is just another example.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/factcheck/2021/06/10/fact-check-higher-gas-prices-due-national-and-seasonal-demand/5253346001/
All you nay-sayers deny the concept of perception. As my father used to say, “People believe what they want to believe.” So true. (Leftist, Gannett-owned USA Today fact-checkers? What a joke; talk about the fox guarding the hen house!)
If you really believe Biden & Company are “for” the working man and pro-America in general, knock yourself out. The reality that he is a puppet for evil, Godless forces beyond your comprehension (or want to acknowledge) is something I cannot help you understand or acknowledge. Ignorance is bliss, per the old adage. Or, as Author Ayn Rand says, “You can ignore reality, but you cannot ignore the consequences of ignoring reality.” See how all this has played out in, say, 4 or 5 years.
To the topic at hand: Sure, there are forces at work within the gasoline supply chain that will raise prices in the summertime….so how do you account for the price having ALREADY gone up almost a dollar a gallon since Biden took office BEFORE the summer driving season arrived? People hear of the pipeline being aborted and perceive what it is going to do to the gasoline supply in the United States…and if you haven’t noticed by your own posts, perception is reality for all too many people.
(BTW, I watch less than an hour of FOX News every week, most recently to stay abreast of the condo collapse disaster in Florida. Tragedies like that testify to man’s arrogance and greed, a belief being borne out as engineering reports that were generally ignored are revealed. That has nothing to do with Biden or Trump; it’s yet another manifestation of human nature.)
It’s supply and demand. People are able to get out of their houses and are anxious to do so.
Bob, if you don’t think all politicians are playing for the rich elite, you’re a fool. Even Trump had lots of people who luxuriated in the swamp…
https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/interactive/2021/sonny-perdue-adm-land-deal/
I know, I know that’s just more fake leftist news. Enjoy your information bubble and whatever your perception of reality is.
How DID you get so smart, Joe B?
Quote: Bob, if you don’t think all politicians are playing for the rich elite, you’re a fool. Even Trump had lots of people who luxuriated in the swamp…
I guess I’m not the fool you think I am because, no, I don’t think ALL politicians are playing for the rich elite. I believe there are a few principled men and women in politics, albeit not enough of them. Tim Scott and my first choice for President among the 2016 Republican candidates, Dr. Ben Carson, are among them.
‘Too bad you are so jaundiced, Joe; being left-wing and ignorant is a dangerous combination.
How’d I get so smart? Read a whole bunch, worked hard, applied myself, good teachers. Just lucky, I guess. Next time we can talk about my humility… and the role that heavy doses of sarcasm plays into everything.
Ben Carson? Please. Look at his record at HUD. He was in over his head and remains so. Ask more from leaders.
What’s sad is how being a Dick Lugar Republican gets you called a leftist. If only Republicans had anyone as serious as Lugar around. They’ve purged all the serious politicians with big thoughts from the party … heck, Mitch Daniels has forgotten more than DeSantis will ever know.
No Oil Joe!