Opinion
Experts warn that rising gas prices could lead to even higher inflation as the 2024 election year continues.
Gas prices rising in Biden’s America
“Rises in the two most consumed fuels are outpacing those in crude oil in some of the world’s most important markets,” Yahoo News reported. “US petrol futures have jumped strongly in recent weeks and are now up more than a fifth this year, while diesel in Europe is up 10%. Refinery profits are also above seasonal norms in many regions, a sign of tightness as the peak summer travel period approaches.”
“Fuel production disruptions – a combination of planned construction, unplanned outages and drone attacks on Russian facilities – have driven up prices,” the publication continues. “They have added to higher shipping costs caused by Houthi attacks in the Red Sea and drought in the Panama Canal, as well as supply chain disruptions caused by Western sanctions on the Kremlin.”
Mukesh Sahdev, head of oil trading and downstream research at Rystad Energy AS, weighed in to warn that premium gasoline prices could hit a multi-year high this year.
“There’s not much President Biden can do in time for the election if that happens,” he explained. “Strategic oil reserves are low and there are few levers the U.S. government can use to lower gasoline prices.”
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Current gas prices in the United States
In the United States, the average price of gasoline at the pump is now 60% higher than at the beginning of November 2020, a fact that could have a big influence on how Americans vote. National inventories of gasoline and diesel fuels are also well below seasonal norms, causing a lower-than-normal supply margin.
Nerd Wallet reported that the average regular gas price in the United States as of March 7 is $3.397 a gallon, which is about 8 cents higher than last week’s average and the highest average national price since November. The current gas price is a jump of 25 cents from last month’s average of $3.148 a gallon, and the national average has increased 31 cents since the start of 2024.
Last month, Moody’s Analytics found that rising gas prices could be what costs President Joe Biden in the election later this year.
“Biden gets a small benefit from the year-over-year decline in gasoline prices, but the increase expected in late 2024 erodes much of the benefit,” Moody’s wrote, according to The Hill. “That said, predicting oil prices is particularly difficult, and if prices rise much more than expected, the damage to Biden’s reelection bid would rapidly increase.”
Moody’s added that former President Donald Trump will win the election if prices rise to $4 a gallon.
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States with the most expensive gas prices
Live Now Fox reported that the top ten states with the most expensive gas prices are:
- California ($4.88)
- Hawaii ($4.70)
- Washington ($4.20)
- Nevada ($4.11)
- Oregon ($3.93)
- Illinois ($3.72)
- Alaska ($3.70)
- Arizona ($3.57)
- Michigan ($3.56)
- Pennsylvania ($3.52)
All this shows how much of an economic nightmare it is to live in Biden’s America. As the year progresses, it will certainly be interesting to see what impact this will have on the presidential election.
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