Gas prices

The pain at the pump has many Americans changing their habits, reconsidering when and how they use their vehicles. Some are driving less, ...

As one observer put it, in the debate over gas prices, Republicans are "lying through their teeth about how much of this is Biden's fault."

To the disappointment of many on the left, we’ve known for months that the Democratic administration has done largely the opposite. The Times' report added, "The country became a net exporter of petroleum in 2020, the first time since at least 1949. Even if Mr. Biden had greenlighted the project and TransCanada, now known as TC Energy, had won its court battles, it is unlikely that the pipeline would have been operational today given that the company estimated in March 2020 that it would have entered into service in 2023.” (Republican Rep. August Pfluger insisted this week that the administration should turn the pipeline “back on,” which didn’t make any sense at all, since it was never “on” in the first place.) As gas prices hit a high this week, top Republican lawmakers took to the airwaves and the floors of Congress with misleading claims that pinned the blame on President Biden and his energy policies.... Yes, and the former president likes to take credit for that, but he shouldn’t. Gas prices fell in 2020 for the same reason they fell in 2008: There was a recession. Keeping up with the avalanche of dubious claims has been challenging, and it’s likely much of the public no longer knows what to think.

As gas prices reach record highs in the U.S. drivers complain of price gouging. But is illegal price gouging at the pump actually happening?

At the end of the day, gas prices are largely driven by market forces. Consumer gas prices are largely based on the cost of wholesale crude oil, and global oil prices have been soaring in 2022. Still, plenty of people are floating accusations of price gouging at the pump on social media. Price gouging can be hard to define and harder to prosecute. "We understand Putin’s war against the people of Ukraine is causing prices to rise," Biden said. But are gas stations actually engaging in price gouging?

Consumers may incur an extra $2000 in fuel costs this year, and fuel prices could still be headed higher.

The surge in gas prices is due to the larger global oil market, De Haan said. "$5 [per gallon] is the old $4, and somewhere north of $5 could be a tipping point" that causes drivers to scale back. But experts say the U.S. is producing more oil now than it was it was in 2020, prior to Mr. Biden's inauguration. Inflation could start easing later in the year but is likely to remain high, many experts think. "When the U.S. issues sanctions, that has wide ramifications on the ability of Russia to export oil," he said. Expect gas prices to remain elevated for weeks if not months, experts say. In today's dollars, the price was closer to $5.25 a gallon. Against that backdrop of steadily rising prices, Russia's war in Ukraine has caused a rapid 20%-plus spike in oil and gas prices in mere weeks. When demand for gas and oil plunged during the pandemic, OPEC and oil-producing nations such as Russia cut production, slashing it by an unprecedented 10 million barrels. Until that happens, fuel prices remain a major topic of discussion, with families budgeting for higher gas costs and cutting spending in other areas. The typical driver cut their driving in half, according to AAA. Not surprisingly, soaring gas prices are having a very real impact on household budgets: A typical family may incur additional costs of $2,000 this year simply due to the higher costs, according to one Wall Street estimate.

One Mobil gas station showed prices of $7.35 for regular unleaded, $7.65 for special, and $7.95 for super.

Gas prices in Beverly Hills are above $7 per gallon. Gas prices hit over $7 per gallon in Beverly Hills The national average for a gallon of gas set a record for a third straight day Thursday, hitting $4.32 a gallon.

Americans these days are intently focused on the price of gasoline. Understandably. Gas prices were already rising after.

In fact, the burden remains below the prevailing levels for most of the time between 2006 to 2014. This shows the burden of higher gas prices for the average household. And using current price levels from March, the burden of paying for that gasoline purchase spiked further, to 3.9%. That’s several times faster than the increase of consumer prices generally over the same period, which was 7.9% in February. This is a trickier question to answer than one might expect, because the most basic gas price data is not adjusted for other economic factors, including incomes, which have been rising over time. Other sources of variation in a household’s gasoline costs are how many cars you own, how much you drive and how fuel-efficient your car is; literally, your mileage may vary.) The government’s historical data goes back to 1992. But how high are gas prices now compared to the past? • Once gas prices reach $5.10 or so, the burden of gas purchases on personal incomes should set a new record. • In March, the U.S. hit an all-time high of around $4.10 a gallon. Gas prices were already rising after travel and commutes resumed following widespread restraints imposed early in the coronavirus pandemic. This makes the price even more memorable."