According to AAA, the average nationwide price for a gallon of normal gasoline is $3.56, up from $3.49 a week ago and $3.41 a month ago. Gasoline prices in the United States have continued to soar this week, reaching their highest level in months.
Concerns and political consequences for the Biden administration are now rising. Gas costs are increasing, said Stephen Moore, an economist. Moore stated that Biden is doing nothing but pushing a ridiculous green agenda that will drive up prices even more. If America returned to Trump’s energy policy, the nation would be producing 2 million barrels more daily.
Energy price worries were aggravated earlier this week when OPEC+ declared a major reduction in oil supply, which is expected to hike costs for U.S. consumers.
Texas Congresswoman Mayra Flores states that the Saudis are reducing oil output by 500,000 barrels per day. She added that this was going to affect gas prices and the economy, and this was why the nation needed to become and stay energy independent.
People are already paying far more for energy than before Biden took office. Last summer, gas prices reached all-time highs, reaching $5 per gallon nationwide. Prices fell following that, partly because Biden relied largely on the Strategic Petroleum Reserves (SPR). The Strategic Petroleum Reserves are now at their lowest level since 1984, forcing Biden to be more cautious in using them to prevent further price increases.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine has also caused havoc in global energy markets. The battle was supposed to conclude by now, but it hasn’t, and there’s no indication of an end in sight. Biden’s supporters have fought back, citing oil firms’ profits despite increasing prices harming people.
Robert Reich, a Berkeley professor and former Labor Secretary, said that when you were paying through the roof for gasoline, Big Oil was using the cover of inflation to raise prices and fill their pockets. Reich claims that B.P.’s CEO recently bragged that his business had the lowest manufacturing cost in 16 years in 2022.
Critics have said that the Biden administration is to blame for rising energy prices because Biden is against domestic oil and gas exploration and expanding pipelines. The Lower Energy Costs Act (H.R.1), which would encourage domestic drilling to cut prices, was just passed by House Republicans, but it is unlikely to receive enough Democratic support to pass in the Senate.
Daniel Turner, executive director of Power the Future, an advocacy group for energy workers, believes the Senate should adopt H.R. 1, and President Biden must finally put politics aside and unleash the power of American energy. Otherwise, the nation will be heading back to $4 per gallon of fuel as the norm, among many other unpleasant aspects. Additionally, increased gas prices will raise inflation.
According to some analysts, OPEC+’s decision might hike oil prices by 26 cents. Several analysts believe OPEC+’s action is a portent of things to come.
With the world’s transformation to ‘clean and green energy,’ OPEC+ realizes all too well that its still highly valued ‘liquid gold’ will begin to lose its luster at some time, said Quincy Krosby, Chief Global Strategist for LPL Financial. Until then, crude price management will be used more directly and forcefully than expected as OPEC+ countries prepare for the future by spending trillions of dollars on rebuilding infrastructure and moving away from crude oil as their main source of income.
Biden has also been criticized recently for lowering the country’s energy reserves to a level that some people think is dangerous. House Oversight Republicans made this point in a letter to Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm this week.
The letter said that by cutting back on important fuel storage to lower short-term prices, the Biden Administration exposed the U.S. to future market volatility and made it more dependent on supplies from countries that are at odds with the U.S. instead of supporting an “all-of-the-above” energy approach to unlock America’s energy potential.