Gas prices are now more than double what they were when President Joe Biden took office just 18 months ago.
According to AAA travel agency’s gas tracker, the nationwide average for a gallon of regular unleaded fuel reached a new record of $4.87 on Monday, a 101 percent increase from the $2.42 when Biden was inaugurated in January 2021. Prices for diesel also hit a new high on Monday at $5.65 per gallon.
Speaking in Japan last month, President Biden celebrated the high prices as “an incredible transition” while increasing his push for the Democrats’ energy agenda that prioritizes the suppression of oil and gas production.
“When it’s over, we’ll be stronger and the world will be stronger and less reliant on fossil fuels,” Biden said.
While gas prices approach a nationwide average of $5 per gallon, which could happen within days, analysts at JPMorgan Chase expect an average of $6.20 per gallon by August. California residents are already there, paying an average of $6.34 per gallon to fill up their tanks.
At the same time, Americans are coping with the fastest pace of inflation increases in four decades. According to the Department of Labor, overall prices are up 8.3 percent from last year, and energy prices are up more than 30 percent. Prices are only expected to keep rising as high energy costs, particularly for diesel, translate into higher prices across the economy due to the increased expenses of transportation and production.
Last week, Gallup revealed that Americans’ confidence in the economy is at its lowest point since 2009 after they have been shocked by daily record gas prices for nearly the entire month of May. The trend has only continued throughout June, with price leaps far higher post-Memorial Day than seen last month.
The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday that coal prices are now on the rise after the capital-intensive industry has faced similar investment hurdles as oil and natural gas by virtue of their being fossil fuels. As electricity demand roars during dry summer heats waves, the North American Electric Reliability Corporation warned that Americans across the country will face rolling blackouts.
Despite soaring energy prices, which are in large part a consequence of the administration’s enthusiastic forfeiture of the energy dominance inherited from the Trump White House, Biden announced a major push to promote unreliable solar power to replace coal, oil, and natural gas on the power grid. The president invoked the Defense Production Act to manufacture new panels while waiving import tariffs on solar supplies for 24 months. Last month, CBS News revealed that Biden canceled more oil and gas projects in Alaska and the Gulf of Mexico.
