Prices and grades of gasoline are shown on a pump at a Shell gas station Friday, May 26, 2023, in Commerce City, Colo. Consumer prices in the United States cooled last month, rising just 0.1% from April to May and extending the past year’s steady easing of inflation. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
National gas prices rose by 4 cents on Tuesday to $3.64, the highest single-day increase since last June, according to AAA.
But gas now is much cheaper than it was a year ago, when the national price average topped $5 per gallon for the first time in early June 2022.
Those soaring prices were used by Republicans to attack the Biden administration and Democrats in last year’s midterm elections. Biden’s approval ratings hit their lowest during that period, as frustrations over gas prices peaked.
While Republicans blamed the rising prices on Biden’s energy policies, Industry experts pointed to an industry still recovering from COVID-19, global inflation and the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Gas prices are still higher than the same period in 2021, but the steady decline since last summer’s prices are a key factor in inflation’s fall over the same period.
As of last month, inflation has fallen to 3 percent year-over-year in the U.S., a large step down from the 9.1 percent mark in June 2022, according to Labor Department data. That’s the lowest inflation figure since early 2021.
West Texas crude oil, the U.S. standard, is worth $79.64 per barrel as of Tuesday. That’s a significant increase from the $75.75 mark of a week ago, but still well below the $95.54 price of July 25, 2022.
International production pressures also play a factor in the gas price. Last month, OPEC+, the cartel of oil-producing nations, agreed to limit oil production further as prices fell. Since that announcement, prices have risen by about $7 per barrel.
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